Holding On
by Dulcineah
Summary: Jimmy had cheated on her and she’d gotten drunk and had a fling and now she was going to have a baby. Just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Sandy and Kirsten at Berkeley. Complete.
1. 1

Author's notes:

If I owned the show, Ryan would be getting some action a lot more than just once a year.

I realize there are already a number of Kandy-in-college stories out there, but I think this one has a different angle to it. Please review if you like this and want me to continue-I'm always a bit nervous about starting new stories, but I'll continue for as long as people are still reading and enjoying this.

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_We've got to hold on to what we've got  
_'_Cause it doesn't make a difference if we make it or not  
__We've got each other and that's a lot  
__For love-we'll give it a shot_

_-Bon Jovi, Livin' on a Prayer_

The instructions on the box said that results would be clear in three minutes. Kirsten Nichol set the timer and went back into the bedroom to wait. _It's only a false alarm_, she tried to assure herself. _Just the stress of the last six weeks, that's all._

She repeated these thoughts to herself as she tried not to think about the test she had just taken. After all, she had just been through the most hellish month and a half possible, with breaking up with Jimmy and adjusting to a new life at college. The thought of Jimmy brought fresh tears to her eyes. They had been together for over three years, ever since he and his family had moved to Newport the summer before Kirsten's sophomore year in high school. They had been the lead couple at Cotillion, and homecoming king and queen at Harbor. They were meant for each other-everyone in Orange County had thought so.

And now Jimmy was getting married to someone else, a girl from Riverside he had impregnated shortly after Kirsten had left for Berkeley. She didn't know what hurt more-that Jimmy had cheated on her, or that if she hadn't had the abortion before senior year, she would be the one married to him right now.

When she looked back, it seemed like their problems had all started after she'd gotten rid of the baby. Jimmy hadn't known-she hadn't seen any reason to upset him, since she'd never planned on having the baby. They were so young, after all, and you simply didn't see seventeen year olds having babies in Newport Beach. That was more of a Chino thing, or Riverside. And pretty, intelligent, homecoming queen Kirsten Nichol was everything a Newport girl was supposed to be. Teenage pregnancy simply didn't fit into her image.

So she had gotten rid of the baby, but it had been much harder than she'd anticipated. Even though she'd known she could never keep it, she had still imagined a couple of times what it would be like to be married to Jimmy, and to have a child of their own. She had pictured the baby as a boy, with her blond hair and blue eyes, and Jimmy's smile. After the abortion, she found it hard to be around Jimmy, to accept his embraces as if nothing had happened. She began to pull away from him in spite of herself, and ended up accepting a scholarship to Berkeley instead of going to UCLA with him as they had always planned.

Kirsten couldn't believe that she could be in this situation again. She had been so careful about birth control, never wanting to find herself pregnant again unless she and Jimmy were married and they both agreed to have a child. And she certainly hadn't wanted it to be like this, knocked up after a drunken one-night stand with a law student whose last name she didn't even know.

She thought back to that day six weeks ago, when Jimmy had come to see her at Berkeley. She hadn't seen him in almost a month, and she had spent the morning before he arrived in front of the mirror, experimenting with her hair and makeup in an effort to look her prettiest. When he arrived that afternoon, she was so happy to see him that she didn't notice that he pulled away slightly when she kissed him, or that he seemed more uncomfortable in her presence than she could ever remember seeing him.

She had picked up on it quickly, though, when he had suggested going out for dinner instead of going upstairs to her room and ordering pizza. Kirsten's roommate was going to be spending the night with a friend, and she had been looking forward to being alone with Jimmy for the first time in a month. Instead, they went out for Vietnamese food where they sat across from each other in a booth while Jimmy avoided meeting her eyes.

They had been there half an hour and Jimmy was still making small talk. She was growing more and more aware of his sense of unease, her own anxiety mounting. Anything had to be better than this charade they were performing. Whatever Jimmy had to say to her couldn't be that bad. "Jimmy, is there something you want to say to me?"

He shifted his gaze to the table and gave a small sigh. "Kirsten, I don't know how to tell you this."

She smiled with a confidence that she was far from feeling. "Come on, Jimmy, it can't be worse than that time you lost the tickets to the Bon Jovi concert and we had to sneak in with that group of Swedish tourists."

Jimmy managed his first real smile of the evening. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Come on," Kirsten urged. "Whatever it is, you'll feel better after having said it."

He finally met her gaze, his eyes filled with sadness. "I'm getting married."

His words didn't register. "What?"

"I'm getting married," he repeated dully. "Next month."

Kirsten furrowed her brow. "But I thought we were going to wait until we were out of college." Then the impact of his words finally hit her, and her cheeks flushed. "What do you mean?"

"Her name is Julie," Jimmy rambled. "She's seventeen and she's from Riverside."

She still wasn't quite understanding what he was saying. "But you're my boyfriend, Jimmy."

"She's pregnant," Jimmy said quietly. "Kirsten, I'm so sorry."

This had to be a dream, Kirsten decided. Any moment now, she would wake up back in her dorm room, squished up against Jimmy in her twin bed and feeling relieved that it was only a bad dream and nothing more. She shook her head. "No."

"I'm so sorry, Kirsten," Jimmy pleaded. "I love you. You know that. I never wanted to hurt you."

"You cheated on me?" Her voice was high and shrill, and sounded like a stranger's.

"I'm sorry," Jimmy repeated. "I know that doesn't make it right, that nothing can make it right, but you have to believe that I never wanted this to happen."

She grabbed her purse and stood up, miraculously without knocking anything over. Her body felt numb, and she idly wondered if she was having a stroke. She hoped she was having a stroke. That would serve Jimmy right, to watch her die right here before his eyes. "I have to go."

"I'll walk you back," Jimmy offered.

"No," she snapped. "I don't want you anywhere near me right now. Or ever. Leave me alone."

"Kirsten, please, let me take you back," Jimmy begged.

She slapped him across his cheek with all the strength she had. "Get away from me! I hate you!"

She stormed out of the restaurant without a backwards glance, leaving Jimmy to pay the bill. She was glad she'd ordered an appetizer and an expensive entrée. She hoped his parents were good and pissed at him for this. She hoped that this Julie had a double chin and horrible acne.

The phone was ringing when she got back to her room. She yanked the cord out of the wall and slammed the phone down on her desk, knocking off a pile of papers. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore.

Only then did Kirsten start to cry.

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Jimmy called every day for the next week. Every time, she hung up the phone as soon as she heard his voice, and after awhile the frequency of his calls began to fade. Kirsten went to the classes she couldn't afford to miss and skipped the ones she could. She became addicted to the afternoon soap operas. She put on ten pounds from eating junk food. She didn't like to go out often, preferring to stay in and mope except for the occasions when her roommate Jody could talk her into going to the student union for dinner or to Blockbuster to rent some movies.

Two weeks after Jimmy broke up with her, Jody convinced Kirsten to come to a fraternity party with her. While she was there, Kirsten got drunk and met a third-year law student named Sandy. He seemed nice enough, and he'd had a few drinks as well, and before she could really think about what she was doing, it was the next morning and she was in Sandy's bedroom trying to quietly dress herself without waking him before sneaking out and returning home. Getting drunk and having sex with almost-strangers weren't behaviors that the old Kirsten Nichol would have ever done, but she wasn't that girl anymore.

She did feel a little bad about sneaking out like she had, but she figured that Sandy would understand. The last thing she wanted was another relationship. He had been nice to her, and it was good to know that other men still found her attractive even if Jimmy didn't. And as for Sandy, well, he'd gotten a night of no strings attached sex. What guy wouldn't be happy with that?

The timer went off, bringing Kirsten back to the present. She went into the bathroom and picked up the plastic stick, forcing herself to look down at it.

Two pink lines. She picked up the box to double check, hoping that she might be wrong.

No such luck. Two pink lines. Positive.

She was pregnant, and by a law student named Sandy whose last name she didn't even know. Jimmy had cheated on her and she'd gotten drunk and had a fling and now she was going to have a baby. Just when she thought things couldn't possibly get any worse.

Fuck. What was she going to do?


	2. 2

Author's notes:

Some timeline stuff-

This takes place when Sandy is twenty-two and Kirsten is eighteen. I've tried to stick to the show's timeline as much as possible, but that contradicts itself in a number of places, so I might take a few liberties with it. Sandy's in his final year of law school, while Kirsten is a freshman at Berkeley.

OTHlover04-Glad you liked it!

Famous99-I realized after I posted that the timeline was a little screwy. Last year, Sandy and Kirsten had supposedly been married for seventeen years, and then this year they've been married for twenty, but Seth and Ryan are still the same ages they were last year. But I've read a number of fics that suggested that Seth was already on the way when Sandy and Kirsten got married, so hopefully this isn't too unbelievable.

Brenda Osler-Thanks for your comments! I love Kandy too, even with all the horrible plotlines Josh has been giving us lately, so writing this is therapeutic for me. I'm glad you like it!

Cheekymice-I've always wondered why on earth Sandy and Kirsten allowed Ryan to go back to Chino last summer-that was one of the inspirations for this story (along with some alcohol, I admit).

Pumpkin Muffin-I'm glad you liked this! I hope the next chapter doesn't disappoint!

Ldee-This chapter should answer your question, hopefully you'll like it…

OClover01-Thanks for reading! Kirsten's having a rough time right now, but she'll have Sandy to help her get through it!

Pink-angel-dreams-Thanks for your review. I've been wanting to write this for a number of months, but waited until I finished my other story. I'm glad you like it!

JeeSun-Glad you liked! Thanks for reviewing!

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Sandy thought he saw her on Tuesday after his three o'clock class, but there had been a number of students exiting the building at the time, and by the time they cleared out the girl was gone. She was there again on Wednesday, but ran off as he approached her. She was definitely the same girl, Sandy decided. True, he had knocked back the better part of a six-pack that night, as well as a few cups of a cocktail he knew only as jungle juice. He had been buzzed, if not completely drunk, and there were portions of the evening that were a bit hazy. But he remembered that the girl he went home with had the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. That was what he remembered most about her, those beautiful eyes and the sadness he'd sensed from her.

The gilr was waiting for him again on Thursday. This time, she stayed where she was, leaning against a brick wall as Sandy slowly approached her.

He smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease. "Hi."

"Hi." She looked down, seeming a little embarrassed. "I'm not stalking you, I swear."

"I know," Sandy tried to assure her. "I just didn't expect to see you again, that's all."

She looked different than he remembered her, Sandy thought to himself. The night he met her, her hair and makeup had been flawlessly done, and she'd been wearing a stylish black dress that likely cost more than a semester at Berkeley Law. She obviously came from money-something that Sandy Cohen didn't have a lot of. Today her face was devoid of makeup and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a Berkeley sweatshirt and looked a lot more like the girls he'd grown up with back in New York.

"You're Sandy, right?" the girl asked.

He nodded and held out his hand. "Sandy Cohen."

She smiled and Sandy got a funny feeling in his stomach as she slipped her hand into his and shook hit firmly. "Kirsten Nichol."

He let go of her hand reluctantly. "It's nice to meet you. Officially, that is. I know we've met before, but things were a bit crazy that night, and I normally don't drink that much. Not that I think drinking is bad, I just-"

Kirsten laughed. "Do you always talk this much?"

Sandy grinned. "I'm afraid so. Don't be shy about telling me to be quiet or interrupting me if there's something you want to say."

Kirsten smiled. "I'll have to remember that." She took a breath and continued. "I'm sorry about the waiting around the law school, but I didn't know any other way to get ahold of you."

"I would have called you," Sandy offered. "I wanted to call you, but I didn't know your last name and I didn't think you wanted to hear from me."

"I'm sorry," Kirsten apologized again. "I'd been having a really bad couple of weeks when I met you, and I was pretty messed up. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I thought you seemed like a really nice guy."

"But the last thing you needed in your life was a relationship," Sandy continued. "You weren't dating anyone then, were you? You're not coming to tell me that your boyfriend is a linebacker on the football team and is after my blood, are you?"

Kirsten shook her head. "No, I wasn't seeing anyone then. My boyfriend had just broken up with me, actually."

It didn't make Sandy feel much better to hear that sleeping with him had been a means of rebounding for her. Although that was the most realistic explanation. After all, girls like Kirsten didn't date skinny, Jewish law students with New York accents and wild eyebrows.

He swallowed his disappointment. "Well, I appreciate your talking to me, Kirsten."

"Sandy, wait." She put a hand on his arm, then looked uncomfortable with the gesture. "There's something I need to tell you."

"As long as it doesn't involve football players or hired thugs coming after me," Sandy tried to joke.

"I have no idea how you're going to react to this," Kirsten sighed. "I can't even believe it myself, and if you don't believe me or don't want to have anything to do with it, I'll understand. This is my problem, not yours. I just think you should know." She drew a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Sandy stared at her. "You're what?"

"I know we used protection," she blushed, "but I hadn't slept with Jimmy for almost two months before I met you, and there hasn't been anyone else."

"You're pregnant," Sandy repeated, the words refusing to sink into his head. "You're pregnant and it's mine."

Kirsten nodded miserably. "You don't have to do anything, though. This isn't going to affect you. It's my problem, Sandy."

"If it's my kid, then I'd say it's my problem too!" Sandy snapped. "God, how could this have happened?"

"I think we know how it happened," Kirsten replied simply. "I'm sure we're not the first people to find themselves in this situation."

Sandy sighed. "I'm going to need some time to think about this."

"Of course," Kirsten agreed. "Take all the time you need."

"I'll call you tonight," Sandy told her. "I can't be here right now." He started to walk away, then turned back to Kirsten. "I suppose I'll need your phone number."

"Sure ,"she agreed, taking a pen out of her back pocket. "Do you have some paper?" Sandy unzipped his backpack and tore off a scrap before handing it to Kirsten, who scribbled a number on it. Sandy's eyes met hers as she handed him the paper. They didn't know each others phone numbers and they were going to have a baby?

"I'll call you tonight," he repeated. He tucked the paper into his wallet, said goodbye to Kirsten, and headed back to his apartment. He had a lot of thinking to do.

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He called Kirsten at nine o'clock that night, and they agreed to meet at a coffee shop by the law school. He knew his mother was going to think he was crazy for the decision he was about to make. She would say that girls like Kirsten went through life feeling entitled to everything because their families had money, and that Sandy was being a naïve fool if he thought the baby was actually his. Couldn't he see? Her rich-boy boyfriend had knocked her up and then refused to marry her, and she was trying to avoid scandal and disgrace by tricking Sandy into marrying her and saving her reputation. He was a nice guy-that was his problem. Girls like Kirsten would walk all over him.

But then there was the other side of it, the one that remembered growing up without his own father. Sandy had been the youngest of the three Cohen children, and his father had walked out on his mother two months before Sandy was born. He knew what it was like to grow up without a dad, and he wasn't about to let the same thing happen to his child. Maybe it wasn't his baby, but then again, there was every possibility that it was, and despite his mother's comments about girls like Kirsten, he felt that she was telling the truth.

She was already waiting for him when he arrived a little after nine thirty. She looked even more nervous than she had earlier that day, and he felt bad for keeping her waiting. "Hi."

"Hi," Kirsten whispered.

"Thanks for giving me some time," Sandy continued. "I've been thinking a lot, about how things are right now, and the impact that having a child would have on them. I know that this is a very serious situation for both of us, and it's important to analyze the impacts of any decisions we might make-"

"Sandy," Kirsten interrupted. "What did you come here to tell me?"

"Very good," he grinned. "I would have rambled for another twenty minutes if you hadn't stopped me there."

Kirsten sighed. "Sandy."

He reached across the table for her hand. "I know that we don't know very much-anything-about each other. But I want to help you through this. I want to be here for you and our baby."

Kirsten's eyes filled with tears. "You do?"

Damn, he hadn't meant to make her cry. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones. He'd heard that women got pretty emotional when they were expecting a baby. "I do," he replied. "In fact, I think we should get married."

Kirsten looked away and seemed to shrink back from him. "Oh, Sandy, that's so sweet of you, but…"

"I realize you don't know me very well, but I'm a nice guy," he tried to assure her. "I'd be a good husband to you."

"Sandy, we don't know each other at all," Kirsten told him gently. "I'm very flattered, but I'm afraid that if we rush into something, we might ruin it before it has a chance to develop."

He sensed there was more that she wasn't telling him. "And you're not over your ex-boyfriend, are you?"

Kirsten stared down at the table and gave the tiniest shake of her head. "We were together for three years, Sandy. It's not something you get over right away."

He was disappointed, but he supposed that she had a point. "I still want to be part of our child's life," he continued. "And if you don't want me for a husband, maybe you'd still want me as your friend?"

Kirsten looked back at him, her eyes filled with tears. "I'd really like that, Sandy," she whispered.

"My other offer still stands, though," Sandy told her. "In case you change your mind."

Kirsten looked like she was about to protest, but instead gave in with a simple "thank you." He felt a little relieved-he had suggested marriage because he wanted to do that right thing, but he also felt a little disappointed.

"I suppose we're having a baby, then," he continued.

Kirsten looked a little frightened, but agreed. "I suppose we are."


	3. 3

Author's Notes:

Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys rock! More should come soon…

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Kirsten went to Planned Parenthood to get her pregnancy confirmed and for her first prenatal visit. It would have been cheaper to go to the Student Health Center, but she was wary of what might happen if the school found out she was pregnant, and even worse, if her parents did. She hadn't allowed herself to think about telling them, and facing their disappointment. In her father's eyes, she was still a virgin. He had no idea that she'd been having sex with Jimmy for the last two years, and he didn't know about her abortion. Her mother knew about the abortion, had been the one who arranged it, but Kirsten was afraid that she wouldn't be so supportive the second time around.

So Planned Parenthood it was.

Sandy insisted on coming with her, which she was grateful for. She knew that not many guys would be so supportive of a girl in her situation. He had been the one to find this clinic, and he was paying for the appointment, even though she knew he didn't have a lot of money. She had protested at first, but he'd set his jaw and gotten what she was beginning to recognize as a stubborn look in his eyes, so she gave in. She would find a way of paying him back later.

Even though it was easier knowing that Sandy was helping her, it still terrified Kirsten to think of having a baby at all, let alone at this point in her life. Abortion wasn't an option. Even if she could bring herself to go through it a second time, she knew that Sandy would never agree to it. He was already talking about looking for a job while he finished law school, and suggested that some married friends of his might have some baby clothes to give away that their own child had outgrown. He hadn't planned on being a father this early, but Kirsten could tell that he was excited about it. As for her, she was just scared.

The receptionist called her name, and Kirsten stood up shakily. "I guess I'm up," she said to Sandy.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sandy offered.

Kirsten did. She looked at the receptionist. "Can he come with me?"

The girl at the desk nodded. "He's welcome to stay through the interview, although he'll have to wait out here during the exam."

Kirsten blushed, but followed the girl back to a small waiting room, where she and Sandy were told to have a seat and the doctor would be with them shortly. No sooner had they sat down than a young-looking, dark-haired woman came in, introducing herself as Dr. Warner. She shook hands with Sandy and Kirsten and sat down behind the desk.

"So I understand you're here to have a pregnancy confirmed," the doctor began. "Is that right?"

Kirsten nodded. "Yes."

"Okay," the doctor agreed. "We'll do that in a little while, but first I'd like to ask you some questions. Is this the baby's father with you?"

Sandy nodded and managed a smile. "That's me."

"Great." She wrote something down on her notepad. "Why don't we start by going over your medical histories? Kirsten, when was your last menstrual period?"

Kirsten turned bright red. She should have expected this, after all, for all the doctor knew she and Sandy were married, or at least had known each other longer than a few hours before conceiving a child. She couldn't bring herself to look Sandy in the eye, but her guess was that he was either very amused or just as embarrassed as she was. "Um, seven weeks ago."

"And would you say they were fairly regular?" Dr. Warner continued.

"Pretty much, yeah," she mumbled, praying to disappear. "I was on the pill before, but I stopped a couple of months ago." Because Jimmy had broken up with her and she'd thought she would never have sex again, but she didn't want to admit that to either the doctor or Sandy.

"Any medical problems?" the doctor asked, changing topics. Kirsten couldn't help but be relieved. "Genetic conditions?"

Kirsten shook her head. "None that I know of."

"Mine either," Sandy added. Kirsten was grateful she didn't have to ask him.

"Any possible exposure to hazardous substances or toxic materials?"

"I can't think of any," Kirsten offered.

"Just bad coffee in the mornings," Sandy joked.

"Any allergies or mental health problems?" Dr. Warner asked.

"I'm allergic to peanuts," Sandy answered. "That's it as far as I know."

Kirsten wasn't sure if being depressed over Jimmy was a mental health problem or not. She decided it wasn't. The last thing she wanted to do was bring up Jimmy. "No."

"How about your family histories?" the doctor continued. "Have any relatives been diagnosed with any genetic diseases?"

"My sister is diabetic," Sandy answered. "And my aunt on my mother's side had cancer when I was younger. I can't remember what kind, though."

"My dad has hypertension," Kirsten continued. And his blood pressure is sure to go through the roof when he finds out I'm pregnant, she added silently to herself. "My grandfather had a stroke when I was ten, but he was in his seventies by then."

"One more question, and then we're done," the doctor promised. "Kirsten, have you ever been pregnant before?"

Shit. How was she supposed to answer this? She knew it might be important, but how could she sit here with Sandy and say that yes, she'd been pregnant when she was sixteen? "No," she lied, praying that the question wasn't all that important. "No, this is my first time."

"Great!" Dr. Warner smiled. "Sandy, you're free to go sit in the waiting room while Kirsten and I do the necessary tests. I'll have my receptionist call you back when we're through."

Sandy stood up and kissed Kirsten on the forehead. "I'll see you in a bit," he whispered.

Kirsten watched him go with a feeling of sadness. Sandy was such a great guy. Why couldn't she feel anything more for him?

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The test results indicated that Kirsten was six weeks pregnant, with a due date of June 14th. The doctor gave her advice on eating healthy and exercising, as well as avoiding any alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine. She was to come back in her twentieth week for the ultrasound, at which time they could find out the sex of their baby, if they wanted. Sandy promised that he would take good care of her, and do everything necessary to ensure a healthy baby.

It was past dinnertime when they left the clinic, and Sandy impulsively invited Kirsten back to his apartment for dinner. He saw her hesitate and quickly added that it would just be as friends, and that he made a mean omelet. She agreed, and Sandy hoped that he had eggs in the house. With everything that had been going on lately, grocery shopping was the last thing on his mind.

It turned out that Sandy had two eggs, a box of Saltine crackers, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a bottle of mustard in his kitchen. "My mistake," he grinned apologetically at Kirsten. "I hope you're not going to think I lured you here under false pretenses."

"We can still order out," Kirsten offered. "Do you have any take-out menus?"

"Third drawer on the left," he answered. "How do you feel about Vietnamese?"

Kirsten's eyes filled with tears, and he wondered what he could have said to upset her. "Or if Asian isn't your thing, we could always order pizza instead."

She shook her head. "It's not you. My boyfriend, I mean, ex-boyfriend broke up with me over Vietnamese food."

"I didn't realize," Sandy said quietly.

Kirsten touched his arm. "You couldn't have known."

The sadness in her eyes was back, the sadness that had drawn him to her in the first place. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, that her ex didn't matter anymore because the guy was an idiot for leaving someone as incredible as she was. He wanted to hold her until she felt better, but he couldn't, because he wasn't the one that she wanted.

"How about Italian?" he suggested.

Kirsten managed a smile. "I'll go get the menus."

He was already starting to fall for her. This wasn't looking good.


	4. 4

Author's notes:

Sorry again about the delay, but my school keeps insisting that I work on my dissertation. I'd much rather write OC fanfic instead, but sadly, I want to graduate. Thanks famous99, melanie39, pink-angel-dreams, kursk, ally, for you to notice, SVU chicky, Jen, Steph36, Brenda Osler, Trinity is God, Conaleigh Leonhart, and JD fan for your reviews and words of encouragement.

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Morning sickness and midterms coincided for Kirsten two weeks later. She had four tests to study for, and a paper to write for her English class, and the morning sickness had an annoying habit of striking not just in the mornings, but at the most inopportune moments throughout the day and evening. Even assuming that she could catch up in all her classes (she was really regretting having blown off as much school as she did after she and Jimmy broke up), Kirsten had a horror of getting sick halfway through an exam and in front of three hundred of her classmates.

It really wasn't fair. Hadn't she had enough bad luck recently?

She continued on in spite of her growing sense of exhaustion. She took her French and psychology midterms and thought she did okay on them. She finished her English paper two hours before it was done, something she never would have dreamt of doing back at Harbor. The paper wasn't her best work by far, but it was complete and would hopefully get a decent enough grade to carry her until the end of the semester. Calculus and chemistry were both nightmares, and she had no idea how she'd done on those tests. She desperately hoped that Berkeley didn't send home mid-term report cards, and that she could pull her grades up by the end of the term.

Her English paper came back the following week, marked with a big red D plus. "Not up to university standards," the teacher had scribbled at the bottom of the page. "Please see me to discuss your grade."

Kirsten had no intention of doing any such thing. She was having a hard enough time keeping from crying as it was. What was happening to her? She never got D'sshe had been a straight A student at Harbor, and while this paper hadn't been her best, she hadn't thought that it was D material. How was she going to explain this to her parents?

She called Sandy right after class, hoping that he would be in. He only had one class on Wednesdays, and it should have gotten out about an hour ago, by her calculations. Of course, he might have gone out somewhere, in which case she had no idea what she was going to do. Right now, she needed a friend, and Sandy was by far the best friend she had at Berkeley.

He picked up the phone on the second ring. She wanted to cry with relief when she heard his voice. "Kirsten? Is that you?"

"Are you busy?" she asked. "Can I come over?"

"Of course you can," Sandy rapidly assured her. "Are you all right?"

She swallowed. "I'll be okay. I just need a friendly face right about now."

"Come over," Sandy urged her. "We'll eat junk food and watch something on one of the two TV stations that come in at my place. It's just CBS and CSPAN today, unfortunately, but we could make fun of the bad toupees that all the politicians seem to have."

She smiled at Sandy's rambling. She had gotten used to it in the month that they had really gotten to know each other. In fact, she found it endearing, although she would never admit it to Sandy. He would never let her live it down. "I'll be right there."

She was at Sandy's apartment five minutes later, and he opened the door right away when she knocked. "Just in time!" he exclaimed. "This representative with a horrible comb over is giving a speech on Hollywood indecency!"

Kirsten couldn't help laughing. "Only you could make that sound appealing."

Sandy grinned. "Guess I'll be a successful lawyer, then. Good to know."

She smiled. "I can't tell you how good it is to see you."

Sandy escorted her inside, closing the door and taking her coat. "Bad day?"

"The worst," Kirsten agreed, sinking down onto the sofa. "I got my first D today."

"Ouch," Sandy winced. "The first one always hurts the most."

"I don't know how I'm going to keep everything together," Kirsten confessed. "It was a lousy paper and I deserved the D, but it's so hard to focus on school. And it's not going to get any easier, either."

"You mean, after the baby comes?" Sandy asked.

Kirsten sighed. "To be honest, I haven't thought that far into the future yet. Right now I'm stuck on how I'm going to tell my parents. My father's going to throw a fit."

Sandy shuddered. "That's bad, if it's remotely near how my mother's going to react."

"There's no way your mother can be as scary as my father," Kirsten protested.

Sandy shook his head. "You only say that because you haven't met her. Sophie Cohen is one scary lady."

"You don't have to do this," Kirsten offered. "It doesn't have to be your problem as well."

She hadn't meant for it to sound resentful, or for Sandy to suddenly look hurt. "Is that what you really think of me, Kirsten?"

"Of course not," she hastened to assure him. "I'm sorry, Sandy. I've been stressed out and you've been the only thing keeping me sane. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Sandy took her hand between both of his. "We're in this together, Kirsten, and I'm not going anywhere."

"You're such a great guy, Sandy," she told him. "I don't see why some lucky girl hasn't married you already."

She felt an odd pang of jealousy at the thought of Sandy with another girl. It didn't make any senseafter all, she was still in love with Jimmy. She just didn't want to lose him as a friend, that was all.

"Well, I can't marry a girl who doesn't appreciate my unusual sense of humor," Sandy answered lightly. "It's not anywhere near as fun mocking toupees and combovers by myself."

Kirsten laughed. "You're by far the most unusual guy I know."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Sandy grinned.

Impulsively, she kissed his cheek. "Good. That's how I meant it."

"What do you say I make us some sandwiches and we see how the Hollywood decency debate is going?" Sandy proposed.

"As long as our child lets me keep it down, I'd say it sounds wonderful," Kirsten answered.

Sandy placed his hands gently on Kirsten's flat stomach. "Hey, kid! This is your dad. You'd better let your mom eat the wonderful sandwich I'm about to make for her, or you're grounded as soon as you're born."

Kirsten burst into laughter. "That should put the fear of God into him. Or her."

"I hope so," Sandy confessed. "Because if the kid finds out that I'm a pushover, we're both done for."

"Oh, Sandy," Kirsten sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. "You're really one in a million."

Sandy put his arm around her shoulders. "You're pretty great yourself."


	5. 5

Disclaimer:

Josh, please don't sue. I can assure you that I don't own anything that you would want. Although if you keep messing with the Kandy I might not want to return the characters to you when I'm done with them.

I hadn't intended on this chapter turning out how it did, but these characters refuse to do what I tell them to. They go along their merry ways disrupting all my plans for them although thankfully, they have yet to clean the bathroom or burn down the house when I try to make them do something.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxo

Kirsten didn't go home for Thanksgiving weekend. She made up a story about having a paper due the day after the break, and she wanted to take advantage of the campus being quiet in order to do a really good job on it. For her mother, who was concerned about Kirsten's spending the holiday apart from the family for the first time, she told her that her friend Sandy lived in Berkeley and had invited her to spend the holiday together. Of course, Kirsten failed to mention that her friend was named Sanford instead of Sandra, but still, it was mostly truth. Besides, she would come clean in three weeks when she went home for Christmas break.

Sandy had invited her to spend the weekend at his place, since the dorm would be almost deserted and he knew that she would be missing her family. Kirsten accepted his offer gratefully. She felt bad about not going home, knowing that her ten-year old sister Hailey would be disappointed, but she simply couldn't face her parents yet. It was one thing to stretch the truth or omit certain facts over the phone, and another to lie to their faces.

Sandy picked her up at three thirty on Wednesday afternoon. He brought his car, and winced as he lifted her suitcase into the trunk. "You do realize that I only live half a mile away, right? And that you're only going to be gone for three days?"

"I thought guys liked to show off how much they can carry," Kirsten teased. "Aren't you a macho man?"

Sandy shook his head. "Not at all. I'm afraid I'm a wimp."

Kirsten laughed, suddenly filled with affection for him. Sandy never failed to make her smile. "But a chivalrous wimp, nonetheless."

"Of course," Sandy replied, bowing deeply. "We Cohens may whine and complain, but we're always gentlemen about it."

She laughed again, and Sandy couldn't help noticing how her hair shone in the November sunlight and how blue her eyes looked. It was getting harder to remember that she was still hurting over her ex, and that girls like Kirsten never went for boys like him. They were just too different to have anything serious between them.

She was a good friend, though, Sandy had to admit. At least he had that.

When they got to the apartment, Sandy insisted that Kirsten take his room for the weekend while he slept on the couch. She protested that she couldn't kick him out of his own room, and that she would be perfectly fine on the couch. Sandy stubbornly insisted that he'd already claimed the couch and there wasn't enough room on it for both of them. "Three of us," he added, "if you count the baby."

"The baby," Kirsten echoed, touching her stomach lightly. "Next Thanksgiving it's going to be six months old."

She sighed and sat down on the sofa. Sandy joined her, sitting a little farther away than usual. He didn't know if she wanted companionship or wanted some space. He wondered if he should have encouraged her to go home for Thanksgiving, to take one last holiday with her family before her life changed forever.

Kirsten gave him a small smile. "I have to say, when I left for college this fall I never expected this to happen."

Sandy looked down. He wondered if he wasn't being a bit selfish about all of this. After all, if he hadn't slept with Kirsten the night of the party, neither of them would be in this situation. She would likely be dating a blond-haired, blue-eyed football or water polo player, and he would be…well, where he was before he met Kirsten, plowing through law school and occasionally dating a nice Jewish girl that his mother would approve of. Personally, Sandy thought his life had changed for the better the moment he met Kirsten, but it was entirely possible that she didn't feel the same way.

"Hey." She punched him lightly in the arm. "Since when are you quiet?"

"I can be quiet," Sandy protested.

"Sandy, in the entire time that I've known you, we've never had a silence longer than five seconds," Kirsten argued. "This is just weird."

Sandy sighed. "It's nothing. I'm just thinking, that's all."

"About what?" Kirsten probed gently. "The baby?"

He risked a glance at her. "I know this wasn't how you thought college was going to be," he began. "And I know you likely wouldn't be here with me if you weren't pregnant, and I'm sorry if I pressured you into anything you didn't want to do."

"Sandy, stop it," Kirsten commanded. "I'm an adult and no one makes me do anything I don't want to do. My father can tell you that."

"Kirsten," Sandy replied, his tone gentle, "You were a debutante. Your father owns most of Orange County. You can't have planned for your life to turn out like this."

"What are you saying?" Kirsten demanded. She was angry now, and hurt, and confused as to where this had come from. "It's my life, Sandy, and you're right, I hadn't expected to be having a baby when I was nineteen, but it's going to happen. And it's not up to you to decide what I want or what I need."

Sandy hadn't meant to upset her. That was the last thing he'd wanted, and now unless he could find the right words their relationship would be irrevocably damaged. What had possessed him to make such a mess of things?

"You're my best friend, Sandy," Kirsten added softly. "And not because you got me pregnant."

"In that case," Sandy grinned, "I'm going to be a selfish pig and say that regardless of the circumstances, I'm pretty damn glad that you're in my life."

Kirsten was overwhelmed by the rush of affection that she felt for him. Sandy was so adorable when he smiled at her like that. She had never known a man who was so thoughtful and giving of himself as Sandy was. In that matter, she'd never known a man like Sandy. She had loved Jimmy, but he was definitely a boy.

She reached over and brushed a stray lock of Sandy's hair out of his eyes. He needs a haircut, she thought to herself, trying to distract herself from the fact that her heart was beating significantly faster than normal. It was just the pregnancy hormones. She loved Jimmy.

Didn't she?

"What do you think it's going to be?" she asked Sandy, in an attempt to distract herself. "Boy or girl?"

"Hmm." Sandy thought for a moment. "Honestly, I'd be happy with either, as long as it looks like you."

Why was he being so sweet when she was trying so hard not to be attracted to him? "Those eyebrows aren't hereditary, are they?" Kirsten joked.

Sandy grinned. "If they are, I suspect we'll see them on the ultrasound."

He needed to stop smiling like that, Kirsten decided. No man should be allowed to have a smile like that.

Then again, Sandy was single. He'd even offered to marry her. And it wasn't like spending the last three months moping over Jimmy had brought him back.

"You know," she began, placing her hand on Sandy's, "if I recall, your bed is big enough for two."

Sandy hadn't seen that coming. "What?"

"If you want to, that is," Kirsten continued, her voice only slightly above a whisper.

Sandy swallowed. Of course he wanted to. He'd wanted to ever since he first laid eyes on her. "Are you sure you're okay with that?"

She kissed him, lightly, on the lips. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't."

The last of Sandy's resolve broke down. After all, he was only human.


	6. 6

Author's notes:

:sigh: I realize my chapters tend to run a bit on the short side. I thought this one was longer, although not as much as I'd hoped. I've always had a problem with thatI have the same problem with writing papers. If the assignment is ten pages, it's a struggle for me to reach eight.

I can make my chapters longer, but it would take longer in terms of updating time. Does anyone have a preference as to this?

Thanks for all your supportive and encouraging reviews. It makes me happy that people like this story so much. And I have the next chapter planned out, so it should hopefully be written soon.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

Kirsten woke up to find herself sprawled across Sandy's chest. He was a comfortable pillow, she decided, and he smelled nice. And she had to admit, he was much easier to share a bed with. Jimmy had always hogged the covers, which had driven her crazy.

She rested her head against his shoulder and gently ran her fingers up and down his arm. Sandy sighed slightly in his sleep, but didn't wake. She found herself wondering what would have happened if she'd stayed the night with Sandy three months ago, and what their relationship would have been like if she had.

There hadn't been any sex last night. Kirsten thought she might have been willing, but Sandy obviously wanted to take things a bit slower. They had kissed for awhile, and there had been a bit of making out, but that was all. Kirsten was surprised at the disappointment that she felt. True, she had already slept with Sandy, but she wondered what it would be like when it wasn't just a one-night stand to heal her bruised ego.

She glanced at Sandy's alarm clock. Eight thirty-six. Back in Newport, her mother would already be up and on the phone with the caterers to make sure that Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch. Her father would spend the morning watching football on TV: last year, he and Jimmy had almost come to blows over the Dolphins-Giants game. And Hailey…Kirsten didn't know what Hailey would be doing. Her sister always shadowed Kirsten around the house, wanting to play with her. It was flattering, sure, but the eight-year age difference between them meant that they didn't have a lot in common.

She felt bad about it now. Maybe she could call home later today, and talk to her parents and sister for a little while. And when she went home for Christmas, she would make sure to spend time with her little sister, maybe take her out for an afternoon, just the two of them. Hailey would love that, Kirsten thought with a smile.

And next year, everything would be different.

She still didn't understand what was going to happen in the upcoming months. She was dreading telling her parents that she was pregnant. At best, they would be upset and disappointed, and at worst…Kirsten didn't want to think about that. She might not be seeing Newport again for a very long time.

Well, at least she would have Sandy. At least, she hoped she would. She trusted him, and knew that he wouldn't change his mind and decide that he didn't want to be a parent after all. But he would be graduating from law school at the beginning of June, right around the time the baby was due, and he might move anywhere after that. And if that happened, well, she would just have to go with him.

Her stomach began to rumble, and she realized that she was hungry. Sandy was still asleep and didn't show any sign of waking soon, but that didn't matter. She was perfectly capable of getting breakfast by herself. In fact, she would not only cook for herself, but for Sandy as well. It was the least she could do, after everything he had done for her. She hadn't cooked much when she was growing upher family had always had a chefbut how hard could it be?

Sandy's bathrobe was draped across a chair, and Kirsten put it on over her pajamas as she went out into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. There were plenty of eggsthat was good, and she found a box of Bisquick in the cupboard. There was also a large jar of dill pickles, which sounded wonderful to her, although that could be because she was pregnant.

Eggs and pancakes would be a good start. She rummaged around in the cupboards until she found two large frying pans. Perfect. She turned the stove on as high as it would go, and cracked two eggs open into the first frying pan. The second egg had a largish chunk of its shell, and she tried to fish it out, but quickly pulled back at the already intense heat. She would get it out later.

The pancakes might be trickier. The directions on the box weren't very clear as to what she was supposed to do, so she shook a fair portion of the mix into the frying pan, and added water from the sink until the pan was halfway full. Then she was supposed to wait for it to boil before she flipped it overthat much she understood. It looked like the pancake might be a little big, but that was okay, she could cut it up once it was cooked. Sandy wouldn't mind.

She wondered if Sandy had any bacon. That would go perfectly with the eggs and pancakes, and she opened the freezer to see if there was any there. No such luck, but she did find some cans of frozen apple juice. That would have to do. She found a plastic bowl under the sink and dumped the juice in, putting the whole thing in the microwave. It didn't look like very much, so she added another can and set the timer for five minutes.

Turning her attention back to the stove, she saw with dismay that she had left the plastic spatula resting on the edge of the frying pan with the eggs in it, and plastic was now dripping down the sides and bubbling in the bottom of the pan. "Shit!" Kirsten yelped, yanking the spatula away. What was left of it was charred and deformed. Well, she would just buy Sandy another one the next time she was out.

The eggs hadn't made contact with the plastic, so Kirsten supposed that they were still okay. They needed to be flipped, but with the spatula out of service she wasn't sure how. Maybe a fork…she grabbed one from the silverware drawer, but only succeeded in scrambling the yolk around. Scrambled eggs would still be okay, she told herself, trying not to panic. She pushed them around the pan a little more, being careful to avoid the burnt plastic, and turned her attention to the pancakes. With any luck she hadn't ruined them.

The pancake mix was boiling steadily in the other pan, and Kirsten was wondering if she hadn't used too much water, and if she should have used the measurements the box suggested instead of eyeballing it. She poked at it with her fork, but it was still a watery mess. Maybe some more pancake mix would help. She poured some in, and stirred it with the fork. She definitely should have followed the directions on the box.

There was a little ding from the microwave, and she took two glasses out of the cupboard to pour juice into. It was thicker than she expected, and she spilled a fair amount on the counter and the floor. Just what she needed. She got a washcloth from the sink and began to wipe it up. In addition to being thick, it was incredibly sticky. Kirsten had a suspicion that she'd gotten this wrong too.

She smelled smoke two seconds before the fire alarm went off. Kirsten got to her feet and saw that the pancake mix was beginning to smoke, and the eggs had somehow caught on fire. Without thinking, she grabbed the bowl of ultra concentrated juice and dumped it in the frying pan.

The fire went out, which was good. The smoke intensified, which was bad. Kirsten was coughing and waving away the smoke when Sandy came running into the kitchen. He grabbed her arm and yanked her away from the stove.

"Are you okay?" he shouted.

Kirsten coughed again, but managed to nod. "I'm fine."

"Stay here," Sandy instructed her in a tone that left no room for argument. "I'll be right back."

Kirsten watched as Sandy turned off the stove, dumped both frying pans in the sink, and ran cold water over them. He climbed up on the counter and fanned smoke away from the smoke detector until it stopped beeping.

"I'm sorry," Kirsten apologized as Sandy hopped down from the counter. She felt ridiculous standing there in his bathrobe, and was unusually close to tears. "I'm sorry, Sandy."

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Kirsten shook her head. "I know I should have asked, but I thought I could make breakfast for us. I wanted to surprise you."

"I'm not mad," Sandy assured her. "I'm just glad that you're okay."

She blinked back tears. What on earth was wrong with her? "You're sure you're not mad?"

Sandy cast a glance at the mess in the sink. "Not unless you make me eat that stuff."

Kirsten managed to laugh. "I guess I'll never be a world-famous chef."

"Tell you what," Sandy suggested, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Why don't I clean up this mess while you go get dressed, and we'll go out for breakfast?"

"On Thanksgiving Day?" Kirsten asked doubtfully. "What's open on Thanksgiving?"

"Um." Sandy thought for a moment. "Either McDonald's or Denny's."

"All right," Kirsten agreed. "But only if you let me pay." Sandy opened his mouth to protest, and she cut him off. "It's either that or the eggs and pancakes I made."

"Those were pancakes?" Sandy shuddered. "Okay, you win."

Kirsten kissed him. She liked being able to kiss him whenever she felt like it. "Does Dennys have bacon?"


	7. 7

Author's notes:

Sorry this has been so late in coming. But look, it's longer! Not by much, but maybe it'll help make up for the delay.

Famous99You're right, they said this season that Hailey was twenty-five. I was going by last season, when Hailey and Jimmy were reminiscing about when she was ten and Kirsten and Jimmy used to babysit her. Who knows, with this show's screwy timelines?

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Not surprisingly, Dennys was almost empty, with just a few solitary individuals scattered around the restaurant. Looking at them, Kirsten felt a little better about not being with her family this Thanksgiving. At least she had Sandy...these people had no one.

They ordered breakfast. Sandy, having missed the earlier breakfast fiasco, ordered eggs and pancakes. Kirsten settled for French toast. She'd had enough of eggs and pancakes for awhile.

She was sipping her orange juice and waiting for her food to come when Sandy broke the silence. "Kirsten." She looked at him, surprised at the serious tone to his voice. She hadn't heard it very often. Sandy was almost always joking around with her. It was one of the things she liked about him. "Kirsten, we need to talk."

She shrank back automatically. "Okay."

Sandy noticed the stricken look on her face and felt bad. Her last conversation with her boyfriend had probably started off the same way. Of course she looked scared. "You don't have to be afraid," he tried to assure her. "This isn't anything bad. I just think we should talk about what's going to happen once the baby comes."

Kirsten sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Sandy heard the reluctance in her voice, but forced himself to continue on. "I hope you know that no matter what happens, I want to be part of our child's life. But to be honest, Kirsten, I want more than that. I haven't wanted to push you, because I know you're still dealing with a lot, but I really like you. A lot."

This was different than what she'd expected. She needed to say something. Sandy was trying to look calm, she knew, but his eyebrows were knit together in an expression of concern. Pretty soon he would take her silence as an indication that she didn't feel the same way, and would apologize for his hasty remarks.

She didn't want that. She couldn't let that happen. Kirsten took a deep breath. "I like you too, Sandy."

Any lingering thoughts of Jimmy were wiped away by the broad grin that spread across Sandy's face. "I'll be honest, Kirsten, I've been waiting months to hear you say that."

"I know you let me take my time," Kirsten answered quietly. "And I appreciate it, Sandy."

"Now," he continued, taking her hands in his. "I want to tell you that I've been offered a job starting in July. I haven't said yes yet because I wanted to talk it over with you first."

"A job? Sandy, that's great!" Kirsten enthused. "Where is it?"

"Here's the thing," Sandy began. "It's for the public defender's office here in Berkeley. It doesn't pay all that much, not as much as I could make in a private firm, but the hours are more flexible, so I'd be able to spend more time with you and our baby. And you could finish college at Berkeley."

Kirsten thought for a moment. "I'm not sure if I can see you working at a private law firm."

Sandy shuddered. "To be honest, I'd rather not, but then again, babies are expensive."

She felt guilty. Sandy was just twenty-three, finishing up law school. By all rights he should be looking forward to getting his first real job and earning some real money.

Sandy's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I know what you're thinking. And you shouldn't. This is my choice. I want to do this, Kirsten."

"Fine," she agreed. "But I'm going to help too. I know I'm a spoiled Newport girl who's never had to work a day in her life, but I can learn. And you can't stop me."

"You're stubborn, aren't you?" Sandy asked.

Kirsten smiled. "Yes I am, so you'd better get used to it."

"There's something else I was thinking," Sandy continued. "How would you feel about moving in with me next semester, instead of living in the dorm?"

"My father would kill you, and probably me too," Kirsten answered. "But he might be more tolerant if we were married."

Sandy looked sharply at her. "Did you say married?"

"You said to let you know if I changed my mind," Kirsten reminded him. "Remember?"

Sandy broke into a wide smile. "I did, didn't I?"

"You're a wonderful person, Sandy Cohen," Kirsten said softly. "I'm very lucky."

Sandy gripped her hands. "I'm the lucky one. I just wish I had a ring for you right now."

Kirsten shook her head. "I don't need a ring."

"You're going to have one," Sandy promised. "As soon as we can afford it, I'll get you the best ring money can buy."

"Sandy, I don't need anything expensive," Kirsten insisted. "I don't need it."

"Well, I do," Sandy insisted.

"You're stubborn too," Kirsten commented.

He laughed. "I suppose I am. We're a perfect match."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They made love ten minutes after returning to Sandy's apartment. It wasn't their first time, obviously, but it felt as if it were. Sandy wasn't just a drunken one-night stand this time around. He was more than a handsome law student who made her feel desirable again after the mess with Jimmy. Sandy was someone she'd come to care deeply about, maybe evenwell, she wasn't ready to go there yet. But he was good and kind and funny and best of all, he thought all these things about her as well.

They stayed in bed for the better part of the afternoon. Kirsten finally got up around four, and went to call her family while Sandy took a shower. The Nichols had always eaten Thanksgiving dinner at two for as long as Kirsten could remember, so by now they were likely sitting around the living room in food-induced comas. She felt a twinge of homesickness as she dialed the number.

"Hello?" She recognized her sister's voice immediately. "Who's there?"

"Hailey, it's me," she answered.

"Kirsten!" Hailey squealed in delight. "I miss you! Why didn't you come home?"

Kirsten promised herself that she would take her sister out for the day as soon as she got home. "I miss you too, kid. How are you?"

"I got an A on my math test!" Hailey announced proudly. "And I might get to take the class guinea pig home next weekend, and my friend Molly got a new sister! She's so cute!"

Kirsten tried to smile. "Sounds like you're doing great."

"You're coming home for Christmas, right?" Hailey persisted.

"I promise," Kirsten assured her.

"And I" Hailey broke off. "Mom wants to talk to you. You'll be home soon, right?"

"Three weeks," Kirsten promised. "Just three weeks and I'll be home."

"Okay," Hailey agreed. "Bye Kirsten!"

"Kirsten?" It was her mother's voice on the other end of the phone now. "How are you, sweetie? Are you and your friend having fun?"

"Yes, Mom," Kirsten managed to answer. At least that wasn't a lie.

"Did you have a nice Thanksgiving dinner?" Katherine Nichol continued. "Is your friend Sandy's family nice?"

Kirsten swallowed. "Yes, Mom." Now she was lying, and she hated it. "They're very nice people."

"I'm glad, honey," her mother answered. "I just wanted to say that we love you and miss you and can't wait to see you for Christmas."

Kirsten's lip was beginning to tremble. She bit down and struggled to keep her voice even. "I miss you too."

"Here's your father," Katherine told her daughter. "Take care of yourself and we'll see you in three weeks."

"Kiki!" her father's voice boomed out. "How are they treating you up at Berkeley?"

Kirsten gulped. "Great, Dad, everyone's really nice."

"Well, don't get too uncomfortable up there," Caleb ordered, "because if you call and say you're not coming home for Christmas either, I'm going to have to fly there and bring you home myself."

"No, I'll be there," Kirsten promised. "I can't wait to see everyone."

"We can't wait to see you either, Kiki" her father told her affectionately. She hated when her father called her Kiki, but today, hearing it made her want to cry.

Sandy had just gotten out of the shower as she hung up the phone. He was wearing a pair of blue sweatpants and his hair was damp and he looked very handsome and she would have smiled if she wasn't feeling so miserable.

He took one look at her and knew that something was wrong. "Kirsten, what is it?"

Her lower lip was trembling again. "Sandy, why does this have to be so hard?"

Sandy wrapped his arms around her as she cried against his shoulder. He knew there was nothing he could say, that all he could offer was his love and support.

At least she could accept that now. It was a start.


	8. 8

Sorry about the long delay. There's a lot going on in real life right now, so I can't promise anything, although I do promise to try. Thanks for reading and I hope this was worth the wait.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The apartment seemed huge and empty to Sandy when he came home from the airport. He had lived on his own for the last four years, and was well used to it, but that was before he'd met Kirsten. She had been practically living with him since Thanksgiving, and even before that, she had dropped by almost every day. It had been less than an hour since Sandy had last seen her, and he was surprised at how much he missed her.

Kirsten had invited him to spend the winter break in Newport with her family, but he felt that a month was too long for a first visit with his soon-to-be in-laws. He was going to spend four days there after Christmas, where he and Kirsten would break the news about their upcoming marriage and the baby on the way. He'd also taken a job waiting tables, and planned on working overtime and saving some money for the future. God knew he'd need it.

His job didn't start till tomorrow, but there was no time to relax. Today's task would be harder than any twelve hour shift could be. Probably even harder than meeting Kirsten's parentsand telling them thathe'd gotten their daughter pregnant. He'd put it off until Kirsten had left, wanting to protect her from what would at best be a highly uncomfortable situation. Sandy would love to put it off even longer, forever, if possible. Unfortunately, he couldn't. Taking a deep breath, he picked up his phone and dialed his mother's phone number.

"Hello, who is this?" the familiar voice demanded impatiently. Damn. Sandy had been hoping to catch his mother in a good mood, but those were few and far between for Sophie Cohen. He understood, on some level; she worked hellish hours at an emotionally draining job. She hadn't had an easy life, growing up poor in the Bronx, and then having to raise three children alone after Sandy's father had walked out on her.

He understood, but that didn't make things any easier for him.

"Hi Mom," he answered with a cheerfulness that he didn't feel. "How are you?"

"I'm great, aside from the fact that my youngest son never seems to have time to call his mother," Sophie answered sarcastically. "I've just come back from shopping at Barney's and tonight the girls and I are going to a society benefit to save the rain forests. "

Sandy sighed. "I don't call often enough, I get it. I'm sorry."

"Sanford, what do you want?" Sophie asked.

He summoned all his courage. "Actually, I wanted to share some good news with you."

"You've gotten a job?" Sophie asked, her tone shifting to one of genuine interest and excitement. "I want you to tell me all about it."

He'd forgotten about the job, but he might as well start with it. It would make his mother happy, and possibly even soften her for his other news. "It's a public defender job, which means I won't be making a lot, but I don't have a lot of loans to pay off, and it's what I've always wanted to do. I start on the first of July."

"Helping the ones who need it most," Sophie remarked approvingly. "You'll make your mother proud, Sanford."

Sandy didn't talk to his mother often, maybe three or four times a year, and this was by far the best conversation he'd had with her in years, maybe even since he left home to come to Berkeley. She hadn't been too thrilled that he'd chosen California, or that he'd left when he wasn't even seventeen. Their relationship, already strained, had deteriorated even further. And now that she finally seemed to be accepting his life here in California, he was about to ruin it again.

He took a deep breath. "I have some more good news, Mom. I'm getting married." There was a long pause on the other end of the line. He hoped she hadn't fainted, but Sophie Cohen wasn't the type to faint in the face of adversity. "Mom?"

"You're getting married." Sophie repeated flatly.

If he knew his mother, she would try to talk him out of it. Sandy prepared himself for a long and bitter argument. "Yes."

"May I ask when this joyous occasion is taking place?" The sarcasm in her voice was back, and Sandy had an almost irresistible urge to hang up the phone and run out the door. It wouldn't work, though. His mother would call back again and again until she finally talked to him or he changed his number.

"January," he answered, his voice sounding as flat as Sophie's. "It would mean a lot if you could make it."

"You don't give me much warning," Sophie commented. "Why didn't you tell me before now?"

"We weren't engaged until a few weeks ago," he answered.

"And who is the blushing bride?" his mother continued. "You never told me you were seeing anyone."

"Her name is Kirsten," Sandy told her. "Kirsten Nichol, and she's an art history major here at Berkeley."

"Art history?" Sophie asked sarcastically. "Well, that's certainly a useful degree. How old is she?"

"Nineteen." His mother wasn't going to like that answer. Not that she would like Kirsten anyhow, but still being a teenager wouldn't win her any points with Sophie Cohen.

"I see, a young one," Sophie remarked. "What does her family do?"

His mother wouldn't like this either. "Her father's in real estate. He owns a number of companies in Orange County."

"Orange County?" Sophie repeated. "Sanford, please tell me that you're not marrying one of those empty-headed rich girls who do nothing but party at clubs and spend their trust funds on exorbitantly priced designer clothes."

"She's not like that, Mom," Sandy said shortly. He wasn't expecting his mother to approve, but that didn't mean that he would let her make her snide remarks about Kirsten. "She's amazing, and I'm lucky to be marrying her."

"You are lucky," his mother agreed. "Girls like that normally wouldn't look twice at you. Is she pregnant?"

Sandy took a deep breath. "Yes."

"I see." There was another long pause on Sophie's end. "How do you know it's yours?"

He knew she would ask, but the question still infuriated him. "I know because she said it's mine and I trust her," he answered, straining to keep his voice calm.

"How touching," Sophie commented. "I suppose I don't need to waste my breath giving you my opinion."

"No, you don't," Sandy snapped.

"Sanford, you're my son," Sophie began, her voice suddenly gentle. "You're a good boy but you believe what everyone tells you. Girls will see that and take advantage of you. I don't want you to get hurt when you find out that this Kristen--"

"Kirsten," Sandy corrected her sharply.

"When you find out this girl's only marrying you because her rich-boy boyfriend wouldn't," Sophie finished. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"You know what really hurts?" Sandy asked bitterly. "That my own mother couldn't put aside her bitterness to be happy for me."

And with that, he hung up the phone.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Normally Kirsten wasn't too crazy about flying, but this time she found herself wishing that the flight from Oakland to Orange County was longer. Five hours would be nice, or even eleven. A stopover in Tokyo would be just about perfect. Anything so she could delay what she was about to face at home.

At least Sandy was coming next week, she thought. The thought of telling her parents that she was pregnant was still terrifying, but a little less so now that she knew Sandy would be with her. She knew he was worried about meeting her parents, and how much he must care about her to do this for her.

She sipped her orange juice as she tried to pay attention to her book. She had been reading the same paragraph over and over for the last twenty minutes. She was still exhausted from finals week, and she would kill for some coffee, even a Diet Coke. But caffeine was off-limits until after the baby was born.

At least she wasn't really showing yet. She'd put on fifteen pounds since she'd started at Berkeley, but ten of that had been when Jimmy broke up with her. Someone might be able to tell she was pregnant if they knew already, but Kirsten was fairly certain that her news would come as a surprise to her parents. At least, it would to her father. Her mother might not be quite as surprised.

In any case, they wouldn't be able to tell right now. She was wearing sweatpants and Sandy's Berkeley sweatshirt that she'd stolen from his closet right before they left for the airport. It was baggy and comfortable and smelled just a little like Sandy, which Kirsten found soothing. If Sandy wasn't here with her, the next best thing was pretending that he was.

She began to plan how she would spend the time until Sandy came to Newport. She had eight days until he arrived on the twenty-seventh. The twenty-fifth was Christmas, obviously, so that was one day taken care of. She'd promised herself that she was going to take Hailey out for the day, so that was two days planned for. She still needed to do her Christmas shopping. Three. A day to meet up with her high school friends would pass the time, even if she hadn't talked to any of them since leaving for Berkeley, and they had never been very close to begin with. Maybe a girl's day out with her mother and Hailey--that could be fun. She had a feeling that her father would want her to spend some time with him. And if nothing else, she could always go into the Newport Group and help out there. Yes, that would do nicely.

She felt better knowing what she was going to do. The plane would touch down in another fifteen minutes or so, and an hour after that she would be home. These were the last eight days of her childhood, and dammit, she was going to make the most of them.


	9. 9

Author's notes:

I wanted to put Caleb into this chapter, but it got too long and wouldn't have worked. Next chapter. Promise.

This chapter goes out to Trinity is God, because she's awesome, and because today's her birthday! Happy 21st!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

As it turned out, being home again wasn't what she expected it to be. Things seemed a little off between her parents--her father was working far more than usual, which, for Caleb Nichol, meant that he was never home. Kirsten had seen him a grand total of twice since she'd come back from Berkeley, and when she'd suggested coming in to work with him one day, he'd brushed her off with an explanation that the group was negotiating an important deal and she would have much more fun shopping with her girlfriends. Her mother claimed to not be feeling well, and spent most of the day resting in her room. Kirsten had spent most of her vacation playing with her little sister, and while she loved Hailey and enjoyed spending time with her, she was thrilled when the twenty-seventh finally came and she went to pick up Sandy at the airport.

When she got to the airport, she found that Sandy's flight had gotten in fifteen minutes early. A quick trip to his gate proved fruitless, so she checked the baggage claim and found him sitting forlornly against the wall with his battered suitcase next to him.

"Hey there, stranger," she greeted him. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

Sandy's face split into a wide grin and he sprang to his feet, wrapping her in a tight embrace. "I can't begin to describe how glad I am to see you."

"I should go home more often," Kirsten laughed. "It's nice to know I'm missed."

"Well, the apartment doesn't clean itself," Sandy teased. "Although when you're gone, I can try on your underwear without fear of interruption."

"Sandy!" she scolded him, smacking his arm. "I hope our child doesn't inherit its father's ability to say the worst possible things in public."

Sandy shook his head. "I'm afraid our child's doomed. The Cohens are well known for their ability to make fools out of themselves."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Kirsten commented.

Sandy grabbed his suitcase and followed Kirsten out of the terminal. He couldn't help being a little surprised at the car she led him to; a bright red convertible that was obviously new and obviously expensive. He knew that her family had money, but she'd always seemed so down to earth and completely unlike what he'd always believed rich kids to be. Kirsten Nichol's family was obviously very well off, and he had a feeling that they wouldn't be too thrilled that their oldest daughter was going to marry a poor law student.

The drive to Newport was pleasant enough--the weather was beautiful and it was wonderful to be with Kirsten again after a week apart. The closer they got to the ocean, the bigger the houses got, and Sandy's sense of unease began to return. If this was what Kirsten had grown up with, what could he possibly have to offer her?

"So I was thinking," Kirsten turned to him with a grin. "Dinner's not till seven, so we could stop by the house to drop off your suitcase, and head to the beach from there. Have a little fun before entering the lions den."

Sandy's eyes lit up. "How's the surfing here?"

"You've got to be kidding," Kirsten complained. "You like that ridiculous sport?"

"Love it ," Sandy grinned. "My freshman roommate got me hooked. Took me home to San Diego for spring break and by the time the week was over I was addicted. There's not much surfing in Berkeley."

"I suppose out of possible addictions, surfing isn't the worst," Kirsten conceded. "And from what I've heard, Newport's supposed to be a great place for it."

"I wasn't so sure I'd like Orange County," Sandy admitted. "But it has surfing, so I suppose it can't be all bad. Oh, and it has you too."

Kirsten rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

"I am, aren't I?" Sandy agreed cheerfully. His spirits lifted. This might not be a bad week after all.

The house was empty when they stopped by to drop off Sandy's things. It wasn't as big as some of the other ones in the neighborhood, although Sandy's entire apartment could have fitted into the living room. Kirsten's father was at work, she explained to him, and her sister was at gymnastics practice, and her mother had probably gone out with some friends. He would meet them all later tonight.

She showed him to the guest room, which was right across the hall from hers. "My dad works late and my mom sleeps like the dead," Kirsten added with a sly glance at Sandy, slipping her hands into the back pockets of his jeans and drawing him to her. "Or we've got the house to ourselves right now, if you'd rather not wait."

He didn't want to wait. Not at all. But he also didn't want Kirsten's parents to come home and have their first impression be of his mauling their daughter. Then again, they would hate him soon enough, anyhow.

"You're sure we have time?" he asked.

Kirsten kissed him. "I'm sure."

That was good enough for him.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They got to the beach a little before five. Sandy headed right for the waves with the surfboard Kirsten had found earlier in the garage. She thought it might have been Jimmy's, but didn't mention that to Sandy. No sense in bringing it up, and anyhow, she and Jimmy had been over for months now, since before she'd even met Sandy. Jimmy was the past, Sandy was now.

Kirsten walked out onto the pier, watching from the rail as Sandy paddled toward the waves, occasionally riding one in to shore, but more often than not slipping off the board and plunging into the Pacific. He was laughing, though, and clearly having a wonderful time. She'd never been that interested in water sports, but Sandy made surfing look like fun. Maybe she would ask him to give her lessons after the baby was born.

Down in the water, Sandy was caught off-balance by a wave and toppled into the ocean. She laughed to herself.

"Kirsten?" She hadn't heard that voice in months, but recognized it immediately.

She slowly turned around. "Hello, Jimmy."

He looked good. His skin was tanned and the polo shirt he was wearing brought out the blue in his eyes. Jimmy's hands were jammed into his pockets, a sure sign that he was nervous. Kirsten was surprised to feel a lump form in her throat.

Jimmy gave her a nervous smile. "It's good to see you. How have you been?"

She was relieved to hear that her voice remained steady. "Pretty good, actually. How about you?"

"The same, I guess," Jimmy answered. "Busy, but not bad. At least finals are over."

"You're still in school?" she asked, slightly surprised. She'd thought he might have dropped out for awhile to go to work.

"My dad insisted," Jimmy shrugged. "He bought a house for Julie and me, and I'm going to work for him during the summers and join his business after I graduate."

She smiled, surprised at how painful it was. "That's great, Jimmy."

"How about you?" he asked. "How's Berkeley?"

She looked off to her left, just in time to see Sandy ride a wave all the way in to shore. He picked up his board, then looked up to see her on the pier, giving her a wave and a broad smile.

She waved back, and turned to Jimmy again. This time, her smile was much less painful. "Berkeley's great."

"So, um, are you seeing anyone?" Jimmy asked, looking as if he didn't know if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Actually, I'm engaged." Kirsten felt a mean stab of gladness at the hurt expression in Jimmy's eyes. "He's the surfer with the yellow board. His name's Sandy."

"Isn't it a little soon for you to be engaged?" Jimmy asked. "You haven't known each other that long."

Kirsten looked at him coolly. "I don't see how that's any concern of yours."

Jimmy had the presence of mind to look ashamed. "It just seems a little surprising, that's all. I've never known you to be impulsive. But if you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

Kirsten softened a little. "Thank you, Jimmy. I appreciate it."

"So when's the big day?" Jimmy asked, still not looking too happy at the idea.

Kirsten looked out at Sandy again. "We haven't picked a date yet, but soon. Probably sometime next month."

"Wow, soon," Jimmy commented. "You're not pregnant, are you?" He was joking, but Kirsten didn't realize it until her expression gave her away. Jimmy's eyes widened in shock. "You're pregnant?"

"Quiet!" Kirsten hissed. "I haven't told anyone in Newport yet. Sandy and I are going to tell my parents in a couple of days, and they're going to be upset enough as it is. I don't want them to hear it from anyone else."

Jimmy winced. "I can tell you, it's not a very pleasant conversation to have with your parents. But dreading it is worse, so I'd get it over with as soon as possible if I were you."

"It's ironic, isn't it?" Kirsten sighed. "You giving me advice on this subject."

"It is," Jimmy agreed. "Just think, if it had happened any sooner, we'd be the ones getting married."

Kirsten winced. "That's not funny, Jimmy."

"Sorry," he apologized. "And I'm sorry for everything that happened between us. I never wanted anything like that to happen."

"I know." She touched his cheek. "I should go drag Sandy off his surfboard or we won't get home in time for dinner."

Jimmy nodded. "Maybe we could all get together while you're here," he offered. "You and Sandy, me and Julie…I'd really like us to be friends, Kirsten."

"Maybe," she agreed. The last thing she wanted to do was have an outing with Jimmy and the girl he'd cheated on her with, but she'd have Sandy with her, and she didn't really want to hate Jimmy for the rest of her life. "I'll talk to Sandy about it."

"I hope he realizes how lucky he is," Jimmy remarked, a little wistfully.

Kirsten swallowed. "I've got to go."

She turned and walked away, a little too late to avoid seeing the expression on Jimmy's face, the one that clearly said he was still in love with her.


	10. 10

To Kirsten's dismay, her father's car was parked in the driveway when she and Sandy returned home shortly before seven. With the exception of Christmas day, Caleb hadn't been home for dinner once since she'd been back from college, and she didn't understand why he had to pick today to change that habit. Then she felt guilty--after all, she did love her father--but she hadn't wanted his first impression of Sandy to be of a wethaired surfer in Captain Morgan swimming trunks.

Well, even if her father was home, he was likely in his office, which should give her and Sandy just enough time to sneak upstairs for a change of clothes before dinner. It was better than nothing.

Kirsten got out of the car with Sandy and quietly let herself in the front door. It was only ten yards to the stairs, and then they would be home free. Sandy followed close behind her, silent for once. He was probably nervous about the upcoming meeting with her family, or rather, downright terrified because in the time that she'd known him, Sandy Cohen was not often at a loss for words.

Kirsten took a deep breath, slipped her hand into Sandy's, and started to creep down the hall toward the stairs. Ten feet, fifteen, so far so good. They reached twenty, and she began to relax. Not far now.

"Kiki? Is that you?" her father called from the living room.

Shit. "I'm here, dad," she called back. "We were just going to wash up before dinner."

"Why don't you bring your friend in here first?" Caleb suggested. "Your mother and I are both looking forward to meeting her."

Sandy gave her a puzzled look. "Her?"

"I told them that my friend Sandy was going to visit, and I suppose they took that to mean that you were a girl," Kirsten explained quietly.

Sandy grimaced. "This won't be pleasant, will it?"

Kirsten squeezed his hand in an attempt at reassurance. "It won't be so bad. They're going to love you."

"Kiki, what's going on?" Caleb asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway to the living room. "Is everything all ri--" He broke off abruptly, and fixed a steely gaze on Sandy. "Who the hell are you?"

Sandy gulped, but put on his friendliest smile and extended his hand. "I'm Sandy Cohen. You must be Kirsten's father. She's told me so much about you."

"You have a girl's name," Caleb Nichol commented, making no move to shake Sandy's hand. "When my daughter said that she wanted to invite her friend Sandy to visit, I assumed that she was talking about one of her girlfriends. I must say that I'm surprised."

"Dad, it's my fault," Kirsten insisted. "I think you'll really like Sandy when you get to know him."

Caleb looked like he highly doubted it, but he reluctantly shook Sandy's hand. Kirsten gave her father a thankful smile, but Sandy sensed that this was far from over and he had a lot of work to do before Caleb would approve of him.

"I suppose that the two of you want to change for dinner, Kiki," Caleb suggested. "We'll be eating in ten minutes. Sandy and I will certainly have other opportunities to talk while he's here."

"Absolutely," Sandy agreed, putting on his bravest smile to mask how nervous he really felt. "And I'd like to say how much I appreciate your family's hospitality, sir."

Kirsten could see how hard Sandy was trying, and she loved him for it. She wanted to kiss him right then and there, but her father was still watching. "All right, dad," she agreed. "We'll see you in a few minutes."

She grabbed Sandy's wrist and started upstairs. He was more than happy to follow.

Dinner at the Nichol's was far more elaborate than Sandy was used to, and he was struck again at the differences between his world and Kirsten's. He had put on the nicest clothes he had for the occasion, a dress shirt and slacks that he'd bought specifically for this trip in hopes of making a good impression on his future in-laws. There was little chance of that now, but he would still try his hardest for Kirsten's sake.

Katherine Nichol looked a lot like her daughter, and she greeted Sandy with a gentle smile and expressed her pleasure at making his acquaintance. Kirsten's sister Hailey had eyed him warily, and then asked what was wrong with his eyebrows.

"Hailey!" Kirsten scolded her sister. "That's not nice!"

Hailey looked crestfallen at the rebuke from her adored older sister. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"No harm done," Sandy agreed good-naturedly. "Don't worry about it, kid."

"Don't call me kid," Hailey glared at him. "Only Jimmy can call me that."

"I'm sorry," Sandy apologized. "Forgive me?"

Hailey studied him thoughtfully. "You're not blond like Jimmy. And I bet you don't have a cool car like he does. He took me for a ride once."

An awkward silence fell around the table. It wasn't as if Sandy hadn't known about Jimmy Cooper, but it was still a shock to hear his name spoken so casually by Kirsten's little sister. Obviously Jimmy had been a frequent guest to the Nichol home in the past.

"Did I mention that Sandy's at Berkeley Law?" Kirsten offered, in an attempt at starting the conversation again. "He'll be graduating in June."

Caleb snorted. "Just what this country needs. More lawyers."

"That's what my mother said when I told her I was going to law school," Sandy tried to joke. "But I believe that everyone's entitled to a good defense, no matter what their circumstances."

Caleb eyed him warily. "As long as they pay enough, you mean?"

Sandy shook his head. "Money isn't important to me."

Caleb's eyes narrowed and Sandy had the feeling that that wasn't the best thing to say. "What about when you have a family to support?"

"Then I'll do whatever I have to do to take care of them," Sandy answered firmly.

"I think that's a very admirable sentiment," Katherine Nichol added. "It's a pleasure to see a young person who understands the importance of family and of doing what's right."

Caleb threw his napkin onto his plate and stood up. "I just remembered that I left some important papers at the office."

"What could be so important that it can't wait until tomorrow?" Katherine asked sharply. "We have guests, Caleb."

"I'm sure Sandy will understand," Caleb answered shortly. "Don't you?"

"All the same, it's just rude," Katherine insisted. "You've barely seen Kirsten at all since she came home, and now that you're finally home for dinner, you're leaving in the middle of it."

"Mom, it's okay," Kirsten hastened to assure her. She had never seen her parents fight like this, let alone in front of a guest. She sensed that Sandy's visit was not a success so far, but the tension had been there before his arrival. Something was different, and it was scaring her. "Sandy and I were planning on going out tonight anyhow."

"Uh, yeah," Sandy added. Kirsten hadn't mentioned anything to him, but the idea of leaving this house and the tension behind for awhile was a welcome one.

Caleb ignored Sandy, but gave his daughter a grateful look. "See, Kate? It all works out, and Sandy will be here for awhile yet. We'll have plenty of time to spend together."

With that he was gone, shutting the front door behind him a bit harder than necessary. Once he was gone, the room lapsed into silence again.

Katherine sighed. "I'm sorry, Sandy. I'm afraid our family isn't making the best impression on you."

"Can I go watch TV?" Hailey asked, pushing away her plate. "I'm not hungry."

Her mother nodded. "Just keep it down, okay? I think I'm going to take a little nap."

The maid came to take away the plates, and Sandy and Kirsten were left alone in the dining room. Kirsten looked upset, and Sandy reached over and took her hand. "Hey. You okay?"

"I don't know what's gotten into them," Kirsten shook her head. "They never used to be like this."

"I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say, so he just squeezed her hand. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Do you want to go out tonight?" Kirsten asked. "I saw Jimmy today, and he invited us to go out with him and Julie."

Sandy looked startled. "You saw Jimmy? When?"

"It was while you were surfing," Kirsten answered quickly, hoping Sandy wouldn't be weird about it. "We just said hi and talked for awhile, and he said that maybe the four of us could go out while we're here."

"I thought you weren't talking to him," Sandy said.

"I wasn't," Kirsten protested. "We just happened to meet on the pier. Nothing happened, Sandy. Jimmy and I are over. You're the one I want to be with."

"I understand if you still have feelings for him," Sandy told her. "The two of you have a history together, and it ended abruptly. I just want you to be with me because you want to be with me, not because you can't have Jimmy."

"You're what I want," Kirsten assured him, resting her head against his shoulder.

Sandy smiled and kissed her cheek. "Did you still want to go out tonight?"

"Is that okay with you?" Kirsten asked.

Sandy nodded. "It's fine." He would have to meet Jimmy sooner or later, and he believed Kirsten when she said that it was over between the two of them. Not to mention that the evening could only improve after his not-so-favorable first impression with Kirsten's father.

"I'll go call Jimmy." Kirsten stood up to leave, and hesitated. "I love you, Sandy."

It was the first time she'd actually said it to him, and suddenly Sandy didn't care that Kirsten's father hated him or that her little sister kept talking about Jimmy. Kirsten loved him, and he was so happy that he kissed her right there in her parent's dining room.

"I love you too," he whispered in her ear.

"Maybe later tonight, we could go out by ourselves," Kirsten suggested. "There are some great places in Newport I'd love to show you." She gave him a bewitching grin and Sandy knew exactly what she meant.

"I'd definitely be okay with that," Sandy grinned.

"I'll go call Jimmy," Kirsten said reluctantly. "We won't stay long, I promise."

"Just as long as I have you all to myself afterwards," Sandy replied.

Kirsten kissed him. "It's a deal."


	11. 11

It was only ten minutes into the evening, and Kirsten was already sorry that she'd suggested it.

Jimmy's new girlfriend--wife, Kirsten corrected herself--had been giving her dirty looks ever since they had been introduced. Julie was certainly different from her, not only in her looks but in how she talked and the way she carried herself. Her clothes were obviously expensive, and her nails flawlessly done but she didn't carry herself like someone who'd been born into money. She looked like a wide-eyed little girl who was still getting used to her surroundings, and Kirsten would have felt sympathy for her if Julie hadn't stolen her boyfriend.

And then there was Jimmy himself. He looked as handsome as he had that afternoon on the pier, and part of her had trouble believing that the last six months had happened. They had been to this restaurant many times during high school, often stopping in after Jimmy's football games for a bite to eat. Jimmy had even ordered key lime pie, the dessert he'd always ordered when they were out together. But now Jimmy was married and she was engaged and they would both be parents by next year. It was a lot to wrap her head around.

Sandy was rambling about one of his law professors who could never remember any of his students names and kept calling Sandy "Bill". "And he says it in this accent," he added. "Beel, can you turn to page seexty four?"

If Sandy was doing imitations, he must be really nervous, Kirsten thought to herself. She put her hand on his arm and rested her head against his shoulder, trying not to notice the hurt look that flickered in Jimmy's eyes.

Well, let him be hurt. He had done far worse to her.

An uneasy silence fell over the group. Julie reached over and took Jimmy's hand in hers, giving Kirsten a sly smile. Kirsten was starting to long for Hailey's sulking and her father's snide remarks.

"So when's your baby due?" Jimmy asked, in an attempt to start conversation. "Ours is coming at the end of April."

Sandy looked confused. "Our what?"

"June," Kirsten answered quietly, hoping that that would be the end of it. She'd forgotten to tell Sandy that she'd told Jimmy she was pregnant. This was going to be awkward.

"That's right, June," Sandy agreed. "We're really excited about it."

"Do you have a place to live yet?" Jimmy asked. "Are you staying in Berkeley or moving back here?"

"We're staying in Berkeley," Kirsten answered firmly. "Sandy's got a job there. We're going house shopping when we get back."

"That's probably best," Julie agreed sweetly. "After all, Newport is an expensive place to live. You'd probably need your parents help to get a house here."

Kirsten glared at her. You're just a tramp from Riverside, she wanted to say. You don't get to act like you're better than me.

She was furious with Jimmy as well. He had no right to tell anyone that she was pregnant. And if Julie told anyone, which she probably would, it would likely be all over Newport by tomorrow afternoon that Kirsten Nichol was having a baby. She would have to tell her parents soon if she didn't want them to find out from someone else.

"We want to do it on our own," Kirsten replied shortly, unable to conceal her irritation. "I don't need my father to support me."

There was a flash of hurt across Jimmy's face again. Good.

"So Jimmy, do you surf?" Sandy asked, attempting to change the subject and diffuse the tension that was in the room. "I'd be out there every day if I lived here."

"Sometimes," Jimmy answered, relieved at the new topic. "I haven't gone in awhile, though, so I'm not very good."

They began talking about water sports, which was good in that they seemed to be getting along. However, it left Kirsten and Julie sitting in silence, exchanging dirty looks at each other across the table.

"I suppose you're not so perfect after all," Julie said to her in a low voice. "From the way Jimmy talks about you, you'd think you could walk on water."

Kirsten bit her lip to keep the angry words from spilling out. She had a stomachache and felt lousy, in addition to being in this incredibly awkward situation. "I never did anything to you."

Julie shrugged. "You're a lot to live up to. Although I suppose it's easy to be perfect when daddy owns all of Orange County."

"You don't have to be this way," Kirsten snapped. "You've got Jimmy. You won."

Julie smiled. "I did, didn't I?"

"You don't even care that he was my boyfriend, do you?" Kirsten demanded, her voice rising in volume. "Other people's relationships obviously mean nothing to you."

She'd said that a bit louder than she meant to, and she was embarrassed to see both Jimmy and Sandy staring at her. She couldn't bear to meet Sandy's eyes.

"You said we had to have the car back by eleven, didn't you Kirsten?" Sandy asked quietly.

She had her own car and no curfew and both Sandy and Jimmy knew it. Julie probably did too. But Sandy had given her a means of escape, and she was grateful for it. "I think you're right," she agreed.

They said their goodbyes and left the restaurant. Kirsten unlocked her car doors, and they sat in silence. When she risked a glance at Sandy, the expression on his face made her feel even worse.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Going out with Jimmy was a bad idea."

Sandy sighed. "I thought I told you that I didn't want to be a substitute for Jimmy. It's not fair, Kirsten."

"But you're not," she protested. "Sandy, I've told you, you're the one I want to be with."

"It didn't look that way tonight," he said quietly.

"Jimmy and I never had closure," Kirsten tried to explain. "And it was hard seeing him again, but that doesn't mean that I'm still in love with him."

"Come on," Sandy protested. "We never would have spoken again after that night if you hadn't gotten pregnant. We both know that."

"Then maybe this baby happened for a reason," Kirsten persisted. She felt a twinge of pain in her belly, probably from the stress of the evening. "Maybe we're supposed to be together."

"Then why did you look like you still have feelings for Jimmy?" Sandy demanded.

"I'm sorry, Sandy." Tears were beginning to blur her vision. "I don't know what else to tell you."

Sandy shrugged. "I don't either."

She couldn't believe this was happening. Sandy had been there for her ever since everything started. He had made her feel beautiful and special after the pain of Jimmy's rejection. He had been her best friend when she needed one most. And now she might be losing him, and it was all her fault.

She felt another stab of pain, this one sharper than the first. "Ow."

"What's wrong?" Sandy asked, his brown eyes concerned. "It's not the baby, is it?"

She hadn't even thought about that. "I don't know. I've been feeling funny ever since we went out."

Sandy opened his door. "Change sides with me. I'm driving you to the hospital."

"Is that necessary?" Kirsten started to ask, but then she was hit by another spasm. "All right."

She changed places with Sandy and they drove to the hospital in silence.


	12. 12

Forty-five minutes later, Kirsten was being seen by a doctor and Sandy was pacing up and down the hallway, too agitated to sit still for longer than a few moments. If anything happened to Kirsten or their baby, he would never forgive himself, even though Kirsten had reassured him that she would be fine, and that this trip to the hospital was just to be on the safe side. In one particularly bleak moment he wondered if it might not be better if she lost the baby, so she could get back to college and boys like Jimmy and the life she was supposed to have before he'd come along.

Sandy knew better, though. He knew that Kirsten loved him and that she wanted this baby as much as he did. He didn't know if that made him feel better or worse.

He'd called her house after Kirsten was taken in, and in a way that scared him most of all. After all the time and planning he and Kirsten had put into how to tell her parents that she was pregnant, it would now be up to Sandy to do so by himself. He had talked to Kirsten's mother, told her that he was calling from the hospital and asking her to come as quickly as she could. He would explain everything when she got there. Kate Nichol had promised to be on her way as soon as she'd let Caleb know what was going on.

He reached the end of the hallway and turned around to start walking the other way. Lucky thing he was already at the hospital, because he'd be needing treatment too after he'd told Caleb Nichol that he'd gotten his daughter pregnant.

Sandy shook his head in disgust. What was wrong with him? Why was he worrying about how he would be affected when Kirsten and their baby were in trouble? God, I'll make a deal, he promised silently. Let the two of them be okay and Caleb Nichol can do whatever he wants to me.

Looking up from his pacing, he saw Kate Nichol step out of the elevator. Sandy drew a deep breath and went to talk to her.

"Sandy." Kate gripped his arm, her eyes large and frightened. "What's happening? What's wrong with Kirsten?"

"Maybe we should sit down," Sandy offered, leading her to a chair. "It's likely not that serious. Kirsten wasn't feeling very well this evening, and she started having some stomach cramps so I insisted that she come here to be on the safe side." He paused for a moment and summoned his courage. "Just in case there was something wrong with the baby."

"The baby…" Kate repeated in disbelief. "Kirsten's pregnant?"

Sandy nodded. "The baby's due in June. We were going to tell you soon, but then this happened."

"I can't believe Kirsten's pregnant," Kate said again. "It's so hard to take in."

"As soon as she told me, I knew I'd always be there for her and our child," Sandy hastened to assure her. "My father left my mother before I was born, and I knew I would never do that to anyone. And I love your daughter, Mrs. Nichol. Kirsten and I want to get married next month."

Kate studied him closely. "What kind of life can you offer my daughter?"

"I'm just a law student now, but I've got a full-time job offer starting after graduation." Sandy tried his best to sound confident. "It's in Berkeley, so Kirsten can finish school, and the hours are flexible so I can spend as much time as I can with my family. And I want to be a good husband and father," he finished. "I'd do anything to keep Kirsten and the baby safe and happy."

Kate nodded. "Do you know how Kirsten is?"

Sandy shook his head. "The doctors won't tell me anything."

Kate set her mouth into a thin line. "We'll see about that."

Bewildered, Sandy followed her down the hall to the nurse's station where Kate politely but firmly asked for the status on Kirsten Nichol.

The girl in charge looked young, no older than twenty-five or twenty-six. "I'm sorry, ma'am," she apologized, "but we can't give out that information. You'll have to wait for the doctor."

"Could you pass along a message, then?" Kate asked. "Tell the doctor that Kate Nichol, wife of Caleb Nichol, would like to talk to him about how her daughter is doing."

The girl's eyes widened slightly. "I'll let him know right away," she promised. Obviously the name Caleb Nichol carried a lot of clout in Newport.

Sure enough, a doctor appeared within the next three minutes. "Are you here with Kirsten Nichol?"

Sandy jumped up anxiously. "How is she?"

"I'm pleased to say that she's doing just fine," the doctor answered. "We'd like to keep her overnight for observation, but that's just a precaution."

"What about the baby?" Sandy pressed. "The baby's okay, isn't it?"

"The baby's fine too," the doctor assured him. "We ran some tests, and it appears that Kirsten has a shortened cervix. In some instances it can lead to increased risk of miscarriage, but as long as she takes it easy for the rest of her pregnancy she'll likely be in good shape."

"What pregnancy?" Sandy's heart stopped as he recognized the voice of Kirsten's father. Now he was in for it.

"Caleb, we'll talk about that in a minute," Kate chided him. She turned her attention back to the doctor. "Can we see her, doctor?"

"I suppose that would be all right," the doctor agreed. "But I'll have to insist that there only be one visitor at a time."

"You go first, Katherine," Caleb said brusquely. "I'd like a word with Sandy."

"I think Sandy should go first," Kate offered. "Don't you?"

"I was just thinking that Sandy might want to spend the night here," Caleb clarified. His words sounded calm and reasonable, but his eyes were like ice and Sandy knew that he was furious. "Whereas you have to get back to Hailey, and I have to work tomorrow."

"I suppose." Kate looked doubtful. "Is that okay with you, Sandy?"

Sandy remembered the promise he'd made, that he would face Caleb's wrath as long as Kirsten and the baby were safe. It was time for him to live up to his part of the bargain. "It's fine. Tell Kirsten I love her and I'll be there soon."

Kate smiled at him. "My daughter is a lucky girl." She touched Sandy's cheek, then turned to follow the doctor down the corridor.

Sandy was left alone with Caleb. He raised his head slowly and met the older man's eyes, which were still ice-cold. "I suppose you want an explanation."

"I'd appreciate one," Caleb answered coldly. "If it wouldn't trouble you too much to explain why that doctor was talking about my daughter being pregnant."

Sandy gulped. "Mr. Nichol, I know you must be upset right now, and you have every right to be. And Kirsten and I never wanted you or Mrs. Nichol to find out like this. But I love your daughter, and I love our child and no matter what happens I will always be there for them."

"Sanford, I'm not the most popular man in Newport," Caleb began. "In fact, I'd be willing to say that most people think I'm a heartless bastard. I can be accused of a lot of things, but not of being a bad father. My children have always come first."

"I think that's very admirable," Sandy answered.

"Needless to say, I'm very unhappy at this turn of events," Caleb continued. "Kirsten has a bright future ahead of her and I would hate to see anything get in the way of that."

Sandy knew what Caleb was saying, that Sandy wasn't good enough to be with his daughter. "With all due respect, I don't think anyone can make Kirsten do anything she doesn't want to."

"Let's get to the heart of the matter, shall we?" Caleb asked. "How much for you to leave Newport tonight and never see my daughter again?"

Sandy's jaw dropped. "What?"

Caleb reached into his jacket and took out a checkbook. "Name your price."

Sandy struggled to keep his temper. "Your money's no good, old man. Kirsten is the only one who can tell me to leave."

"Your loss," Caleb shrugged, putting his checkbook away. "I just hope you don't expect to support a wife and child on my money, because it's not going to happen."

"Don't worry," Sandy snapped. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I come crawling to you." With that, he turned and stormed away.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Kate was still sitting by her daughter's bed when Sandy finally found them. Kirsten's eyes lit up when she saw him, and Sandy temporarily forgot the unpleasant conversation with her father. Kirsten was all right, and their baby was all right, and they would make it work somehow.

Kate smiled at them. "I'll give the two of you some privacy now." She bent over and kissed her daughter's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Kirsten smiled at Sandy. "Are you staying the night with me?"

Sandy returned her smile. "Wild horses couldn't drag me away. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Kirsten nodded. She looked down and blushed a little. "The doctor told me that we shouldn't have any more sex until after the baby's born."

"Shit." Sandy pointed a finger at Kirsten's stomach. "That's it, kid, you're grounded!"

Kirsten laughed softly. "I do have some good news, though."

"The baby's due tomorrow?" Sandy joked.

"Very funny." Kirsten shifted over to one side of the bed, and patted the mattress beside her. "Come join me."

Sandy glanced around. "Will we get in trouble?"

Kirsten rolled her eyes. "Do you care?"

"Not at all," Sandy decided. He sat down on the bed and gently maneuvered himself until he was lying with Kirsten, his arm around her shoulders. "Now what's this good news?"

Kirsten took his hand and placed it onto her stomach, which was starting to look a little bigger. "The doctor gave me another ultrasound. We're having a boy."

"A boy," Sandy repeated, joy spreading across his face. He cupped Kirsten's face gently between his hands and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, her breath warm and soft in his ear.

He would always love hearing her say that, Sandy decided. Jimmy Cooper and Caleb Nichol didn't matter a bit. Never mind Caleb's threats or Jimmy's sad eyes, or that he couldn't afford a wedding ring for Kirsten yet. Right here, right now, life was pretty damn perfect.


	13. 13

Author's notes:

This is actually wrapping up. There will be one more chapter after this, and I might write a sequel sometime in the future. Thank you so much for all the great reviews!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Kirsten hung up the phone with a disappointed sigh. Her father had called to tell her, yet again, that he wouldn't be able to make it to Berkeley that weekend for the wedding. She and Sandy had already pushed back the date twice already, and she was starting to believe that this had less to do with her father's hectic schedule and more with his objection to her choice of husband.

Sandy had told her, briefly, about the conversation he'd had at the hospital with her father. When he came to see Kirsten the following day, he'd suggested that she might do better to put her child up for adoption so that she could finish school. There would be plenty of time for marriage and children, he assured her. He was thinking about her future here.

Kirsten was glad that Sandy hadn't witnessed that conversation, because she had the feeling that he wouldn't have been at all happy about it. She told her father in no uncertain terms that she was going to marry Sandy and have their baby, and that was that. When she was released from the hospital later that day, she returned home only to pack her suitcase, and she and Sandy spent the night at a motel before flying back to Berkeley the next day.

That had been almost three months ago, and things hadn't gotten much better. Her father still paid her tuition and sent her a check every month. At first she hadn't wanted to cash them, but she didn't want Sandy working hellishly long hours at his job, and her condition was still too fragile to seek employment herself. She'd brought up the possibility once, feeling frustrated that Sandy was both working and going to school full-time, while she was taking a lighter load of classes and doing nothing else. She couldn't cook, so she couldn't even do that for him.

But Sandy had put his foot down. "You have the most important job of all," he'd insisted, patting her stomach. "You have to take care of yourself and little Seth."

So Kirsten went back to cashing her father's checks, hating doing so but knowing that she had little choice. Sandy wasn't too thrilled about accepting the money, but had finally agreed to let her pay half the rent on the apartment, and buy clothes for herself and the baby. He insisted on paying for himself, even if they just went out for tacos. He had been right all those months ago, when he'd said that he was stubborn.

Sandy came into the kitchen as Kirsten was hanging up the phone. He took one look at her face and pulled her to him, drawing her head to his shoulder. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Kirsten sighed, still disappointed but soothed by the comforting warmth of Sandy's body next to hers. "The same as ever. My dad can't make it this weekend."

"I'm sorry," Sandy whispered, dropping a kiss on her forehead and stroking her hair. "I know how much it meant to you."

"Not only that, but my mom's not feeling so great either," Kirsten continued. "Although she'd have to stay with Hailey anyhow."

"We could reschedule again," Sandy offered. Kirsten knew what that offer was costing him. He hated her father, but he wanted him to see their wedding because it meant so much to her.

Kirsten shook her head. "No. He's had enough chances already. I don't want to wait for him anymore."

Sandy smiled, hope flickering in his blue eyes. "Does this mean what I think it does?"

Kirsten smiled back. "Why don't we get married this weekend like we planned? It's about time you made an honest woman out of me."

"It's been far too long already," Sandy agreed.

"So…City Hall it is," Kirsten decided. "You have Saturday off work this week, don't you?"

"Saturday and Sunday," Sandy corrected her. "After all, it's not every weekend that I get married to the most beautiful woman in the world."

Kirsten slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "I love you, Sanford Cohen."

"And I you." Sandy kissed her twice. "So very, very much."

They stared into each others eyes for several moments, before reluctantly breaking apart.

Kirsten sighed. "I still can't believe we can't have sex until after the baby comes."

"It won't be so long," Sandy promised. "You're due in, what, two weeks?"

"Wishful thinking," she sighed. "Two months is more like it."

"After the baby comes, we'll go away together for the weekend," Sandy promised. "First chance we get."

"So the next time we'll have sex will be when Seth's thirty," Kirsten complained.

"You're worth waiting for," Sandy promised. "And I'm very lucky."

Kirsten held on to him tightly, not wanting to let go.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They got up early on Saturday and took the bus downtown to City Hall. There was a wait of two hours before their number was finally called. The marriage itself took less than twenty minutes. Kirsten and Sandy both showed their drivers licenses to prove that they were over eighteen, filled out an application for a marriage license, and paid a cash fee of thirty dollars (Kirsten insisted on paying half). After another five minute wait, they were given a marriage certificate and that was it. They were now husband and wife.

Kirsten and Sandy went out to dinner to celebrate. Money was still tight, so they went to the Italian place where Sandy worked. The manager came out to congratulate them, and told them to order anything they wanted and it would be on the house.

"I know this probably isn't how you pictured your wedding day," Sandy apologized. "I promise someday, when we can afford it, we'll have a real wedding."

Kirsten shook her head. "When I thought about my wedding day, I imagined that I would love my husband more than I ever thought possible, and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. So yes, this is exactly how I imagined my wedding day."

"Something tells me your father will be horrified when they hear about this," Sandy grinned. "I know my mother was when I told her."

Kirsten dismissed his concerns. "It's my wedding day, not theirs. And my father will come around eventually. He acts a lot scarier than he actually is."

Sandy shuddered. "He sure seemed scary to me." Realizing that insulting his new father-in-law probably wasn't the best thing to be doing, he changed the topic. "Here, I've got something for you."

He took Kirsten's left hand, and slid a ring onto her finger. "It's just a something I won in one of those prize machines, but I promise that I'll replace it with the most beautiful ring in all of California."

The ring was made out of cheap plastic, but the rhinestone sparkled brightly and it was pretty in its own way. Kirsten smiled. "It'll never leave my finger."

"I've got something else to show you when we finish," Sandy continued. "So hurry up and eat your spaghetti."

"Sandy, you shouldn't have!" Kirsten protested. She hadn't known he was going to give her anything, and she felt bad. She would have to go shopping while he was at work on Monday and get him something nice.

"Maybe not," Sandy shrugged, "but I did. And," he continued with a grin, "We're married now, so you'll have to get used to it."

"I think I can get used to this," Kirsten agreed. She ate another bite of spaghetti.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

After dinner, Sandy drove her out to the edges of Berkeley, to a quiet tree-lined street with a row of little houses. The neighborhood was obviously working-class, but the houses were all well-cared for. He stopped in front of one and got out to open the car door for Kirsten. "This is it, hon."

Kirsten didn't understand. "This is what?"

Sandy helped her out of the car, and gestured towards the house. "The house. It's ours. I know it's nothing like what you grew up in, and it's not that much bigger than my apartment now, but it's got two bedrooms and a little yard in the back where our son can play when he's older."

"Sandy, we can't afford a house," Kirsten protested.

"I called my mother," Sandy explained. "She lent me the money for a down payment. Of course, she made me promise that we'll visit her at least once a year, and this does mean that she'll want to offer her opinion on anything and everything I do, but we needed our own place. I got a mortgage for the rest, and the monthly payments won't be that much more than the rent on my place. My apartment's going to be much too small after Seth arrives."

Kirsten could have been mad that Sandy had made a huge decision like this without telling her. She would have to talk to him about that--after all, they were married now, and big decisions like buying a house should be made together. But Sandy looked so proud and happy that she couldn't let him down. And she would continue to pay her half of the mortgage, no matter how much Sandy protested.

She returned his smile. "I love you."

Sandy put his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour. All five minutes worth."

She laughed, and went with her husband to see the rest of their new home. It hadn't been a conventional wedding day, but Kirsten wouldn't have changed it for anything.


	14. 14

Author's notes:

First of all, THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU to everyone who's reviewed. Seriously, all your kind words meant a lot to me. I've had a great time writing this, and I hope you've all enjoyed the journey as much as I have.

A slight disclaimer: I know next to nothing about childbirth, so I kind of took a different option with this chapter. Hope it works for everyone.

I might write a sequel to this story at some point in the future, because I feel that there are still stories to be told with these characters.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kirsten shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unable to get settled. She was nine months pregnant, which accounted for most of her discomfort, and she wanted to get a good photo of her husband when he accepted his law diploma. She didn't have such a good angle from where she was sitting, but she was sitting on the aisle and perhaps she could get a better shot when the time came.

"Can you believe your daddy's finally graduating?" she whispered, rubbing her big belly. "His mother was supposed to come, but then she had some sort of crisis at work, so she couldn't make it after all. So it's just you and me here, little boy."

Seth kicked her in response. Kirsten laughed softly. "Just between the two of us, I'm not altogether disappointed that I have to wait a little longer to meet her."

She shifted her weight again. Up on the stage, the ceremony was beginning, with the president of the law college making his speech. Kirsten hoped it wouldn't last long, but considering that lawyers loved to hear themselves talk, she had a feeling she was in for a long wait.

Seth kicked her again. "Ow," Kirsten whimpered. "You're not making this any easier."

God, her back was killing her. Probably from carrying a full-grown baby inside of her, she thought tiredly. She would have liked to have stayed at home, stretched out in Sandy's comfy recliner while wearing sweats and watching TV. She would have stayed home, if this had been any other occasion, but Sandy was graduating from law school today and she wanted to be there to see him get his diploma. He hadn't talked much about it, but she knew that he was hurt that his mother hadn't come. It was the story of his life, he'd told her, his voice light but with the slightest trace of hurt. The kids his mother worked with had always come ahead of her own.

The president finally wrapped up his speech, after ten minutes of talking. She faintly hoped that they would start awarding the diplomas, but no, it was time to hear from the student-selected Faculty of the Year. These cramps were hurting more than they had that morning, and Kirsten had the unpleasant thought that she might be going into labor right here at graduation.

"You listen to me, Seth Ezekiel," she hissed at her belly. "You're going to stay right where you are until this graduation is over or there are going to be consequences!"

She was just being paranoid, Kirsten decided. What she needed was something to take her mind off of this. Think happy thoughts. The new house that she and Sandy had moved into two months ago. It was small and it was a little far away from campus, but it was theirs. There were a couple of trees in the backyard, and even a rope swing. They were still unpacking in the master bedroom, but the nursery was finished and ready for Seth when he came home from the hospital. The furniture was second-hand but Sandy had painted the walls himself and the room was bright and cheerful.

Kirsten had finished her three classes last week, and although she'd have to take summer school in subsequent years, this summer she was taking off to spend time with her new family. She was excited and terrified at the thought of finally becoming a mother, but she would have Sandy with her to share the load, and her mother was going to come up for a visit later that summer. Her father said he might be able to come for a weekend to see his new grandson, if his work schedule permitted. Kirsten knew that he still disapproved of Sandy and of the situation she had gotten herself in, but he was trying in his own way. Once Caleb Nichol made his mind up about something or someone, it was hard for him to change. But he was her father, and she still loved him. And Seth deserved a grandfather, especially one that wanted to be involved in his life.

She'd heard through the grapevine that Jimmy and Julie had had their baby last month, a little girl they'd named Marissa. Kirsten had gone out and bought a stuffed animal for the baby, one of those Care Bears that were so popular these days. She didn't hate Jimmy anymore. She felt a little sad when she thought about him, but she supposed that was normal. She had loved him once, but the person she was now would never be happy being Mrs. Jimmy Cooper. Maybe if she'd gone to UCLA with him like they'd planned to, but then again, they might not have worked out anyhow.

The second speech finished, and the president resumed the podium to announce the graduates. _Finally, _Kirsten thought. She grabbed Sandy's camera from the seat next to her, checked to see that the lens cap was off, and hoisted herself to her feet.

She crept up the aisle and found the perfect spot by the time the B's were finished. The C's were next, and Kirsten hurriedly snapped picture after picture as Sandy crossed the stage, shook hands with the faculty, and accepted his diploma. He looked out into the crowd and blew a kiss to Kirsten as he made his way back to his seat.

Kirsten waved back. "Love you too," she mouthed.

She felt it as soon as she sat down; the warm gush of fluid that soaked her dress and the seat of her chair. For the first time she was glad it was just a cheap folding chair. What was she thinking about the chair for? Her water had broken. The baby was on the way.

Kirsten drew deep breaths, trying to relax. The graduation would be over in another fifteen minutes or so, and then Sandy could drive her to the hospital. Her labor would take hours, maybe even all day. There was nothing to panic about.

The last graduate finally crossed the stage and accepted his diploma. Everyone threw their caps up in the air and graduation was finally, mercifully over. Kirsten hurried as fast as she could (which wasn't very fast at all) towards her husband. When she got to him, Sandy reached for her and hugged her tightly.

"It's over!" he exclaimed happily. "You're now married to a lawyer, my love. What do you think?"

Kirsten didn't waste words. "The baby's coming. We have to go to the hospital."

Sandy's eyes widened. "Here? Now? But you're not due for another week!"

"Sandy," Kirsten pleaded.

"Come on." Her husband put an arm around her shoulders and began to steer her away from the crowd of people. "Let's get this show on the road."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Sandy rubbed his eyes, finally feeling the last twelve hours catch up to him. He was still wearing his suit from graduation, and the caffeine rush from his last cup of coffee had long gone. Kirsten was asleep in her bed next to him, her blonde hair spread across her pillow. Sandy thought she'd never looked as beautiful as she did at that moment.

During the birth, Kirsten had held his hand so tightly he had begun to bruise. She had called him every foul name he'd ever heard, and some he hadn't. She had quite an impressive vocabulary for a girl from Orange County. Needless to say, Sandy was very glad he hadn't been born a girl.

His son was asleep in his arms, wrapped up in a blue blanket. Seth Ezekiel Cohen, born at eleven forty-five at night, nine pounds five ounces. Sandy would never forget the first time he'd heard his son's shrill cry, or the exact way he'd felt when he'd held him for the first time. He was a father now. His entire life had changed today, and Sandy knew that he'd never take an easy breath again without knowing that his child was safe.

Sandy bent over and kissed Kirsten's forehead. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she gave him a drowsy smile.

"Hi," Sandy whispered. He kissed her softly. "I love you."

"Love you too," Kirsten replied. "Isn't he beautiful, Sandy?"

"He sure is," he agreed.

Kirsten smiled. "He looks like you."

"The Cohen men are well known for their good looks," Sandy grinned. "I wouldn't expect anything less for my son."

"Sandy…" Kirsten reached over and touched the baby's cheek. "I know we didn't plan for any of this to happen, but I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Me either," he agreed, giving her another kiss on the forehead. "You go on and get some sleep now."

Kirsten obediently closed her eyes, and before long her breathing became soft and regular. Soon he and Kirsten would take Seth home where they would feed him and change his diapers, play with him and love him. He would do anything to make sure that his family was safe and happy.

He was a lucky man, he thought, watching his sleeping wife and son. He had everything he'd ever wanted in this room with him.


End file.
